Judgment
by DrakeRise
Summary: At a young age, Harry discovered Tales of Symphonia. He knew he was different so maybe he could do the things the characters in the game did? Join Harry Potter, now Harry Irving, as he changes from the scrawny boy in the cupboard under the stairs into a young warrior and discovers a world he had only ever dreamed about.
1. Chapter 1

**Judgment!**

**By DraceenaRise**

**Prologue**

"This game's stupid!"

Harry looked over at his cousin as he threw the controller at the floor, a 'game over' showing on the screen. He inwardly laughed. That was the first battle of the game. He had been playing on it for quite literally a minute. He turned back to his chores and listened to his Uncle and Aunt tell Dudley that the game was a horrible gift anyway and that they'd buy him another one later.

Dudley had been given 'Tales of Symphonia' for his fifth birthday by a cousin on Vernon's side of the family. Apparently he had forgotten how old Dudley was and had bought him a game much too advanced for the dim witted boy. Petunia and Vernon were less than pleased that Dudley had been given such an 'abnormal' game. Magic? Elves? Half-Elves? Giant tree? What was all of this rubbish?

Personally Harry thought it seemed really interesting and the controls didn't seem that complicated. They took the disk out of the game-cube and put it back in the box before throwing it in the bin.

Harry quickly finished picking up the wrapping paper and took it over to the bin. As he put the paper in he took the box out and hid it inside his overlarge t-shirt. His Aunt looked over at what was taking him so long but looked away again when she saw he was just squashing the wrapping paper down to make more room in the bin.

As he went round the room again picking up more wrapping paper he slipped the game under the door to his cupboard. No sense in wasting a perfectly good gift right? And if it was a bad game he could sell it.

He spent the rest of the day just tidying up after his cousin before cooking a huge celebratory dinner. It was his cousins fifth birthday after all.

When he went back into his cupboard later that night he tucked the game safely away in one of his draws.

You see, Harry was no ordinary boy. For a start he lived in the cupboard under the stairs. Harry was an orphan. His parent's died in a car crash when he was a baby so he was sent to live with his Aunt, who was his mother's sister.

Of course since Petunia never liked Harry's mom, she doesn't like Harry either. For as long as Harry could remember he had been forced to live in the cupboard under the stairs and work like slave for his relatives. His cupboard was cramped and uncomfortable; especially since his Uncle had moved the old shoe rack in there when they got a new one for their anniversary last year.

It was a darn sight more comfortable than the floor but Harry wasn't about to tell them that.

Another thing that made Harry different from other boys his age was that he had a _power_. He didn't know what it was or how much it was capable of but it always healed him when he was hurt. He knew he was different. He was a freak.

.oOo.

Harry listened to his relatives moving about upstairs. They were due to go on holiday to Spain tomorrow for their annual holiday. They would be gone for four weeks leaving Harry alone in the house.

Sure enough when morning came the Dursleys left for the airport after giving Harry stern orders to not let the neighbours see him.

When he could no longer hear the car Harry took the game out of the cupboard and placed the first disc into Dudley's GameCube.

It took Harry a week to complete the first play through since he had very little need for food or sleep, plus if he spent his time doing nothing he would get hungry and eat all his food before the Dursleys came back. His second try took two weeks since he spent time exploring and ended up finding a few quests he hadn't done before.

After he had finished the second play through he closed his eyes. He focused inwards and searched for his power.

.oOo.

The next year the Dursleys left Harry again. He pulled out Symphonia and began to play again. He paused at the scene in the Triet Ruins. Genis could sense the Mana in the air around him. Maybe he could do the same. Genis had explained to Lloyd that mana is more essential to life than water. That would mean that all life had mana which implied that anyone with enough focus and practice could sense it.

Harry nodded to himself and shut the game down, returned it to his cupboard and went out to a clearing behind the Dursleys' house. He found it last year when he was running from Dudley once. It was far enough into the small woods that no one would find him but close enough that he could get home quickly. He had been using it to train in ever since. It was the only place in the neighbourhood he could practice magic in. So far he had only learnt a few spells but he didn't really have any need to learn battle magic. He focused on healing instead.

There was an incident when he was learning healing magic though. When he cast _**dispel**_ on himself he got a huge headache and ended up passing out. When he woke up he looked to see what the problem was. He was surprised to see that his 'mana core' (what he called the large well of mana near his heart) was at least ten times the size it was before. Also the strange mana on his head, where the jagged lightning shaped scar was, was gone too. Aside from that he felt better than he had in ages.

He practiced using his feet like Regal as well as training with his hands. There was a bunch of clubs at the local community centre that focused on different martial arts. He watched their lessons through the windows whenever he had the chance so while no one was actually teaching him he was learning properly.

He had also found some old sticks that he used as dual swords. He has always been ambidextrous because sometimes he was unable to use one hand due to 'accidents' caused by his Uncle or cousin. He quickly learned how to use both so he was able to complete his chores and avoid more 'accidents'.

Harry looked over his clearing and sighed happily. It was relatively large. There was a tree stump on the furthest side where an old oak had fallen down. The tree itself lay next to the stump. Harry had taken the small axe from the Dursleys' garage and used it to smoothen out the stump as best he could so he had somewhere to sit and rest. The axe was far too small to be of any use in combat.

The ground in the middle of the clearing was compact and bare of grass from the year that Harry had spent training in it.

Harry walked over and sat on the stump. He closed his eyes and reached inwards until he found his mana. He then tried to stretch his senses outwards but felt nothing. He opened his eyes and glared at the floor. He then spotted a line of ants walking across the ground. He closed his eyes again and focused down at the ants on the ground in front of him.

It took a few minutes and several tries but Harry eventually managed to find the ants' mana. He then focused elsewhere and managed to find the trees around him. By the time the sun set he was able to feel all of the life in the forest around him, within a certain distance. He could just about reach the other end of the clearing. Harry smiled and laughed. He then thought about what would happen if he fed his mana into something. Would it change it? His mana was slightly different.

Harry decided to give it a try. He looked around at the lives around him and he found a fox. He then took in a sharp breath as it carefully stepped into the clearing he was in. He tentatively reached out with his mana and brushed against the fox.

He snapped his eyes open in shock.

He could feel the fox' emotions now. The fox was curious but a little weary too and ready to run at a moment's notice. Harry carefully fed a little more of his mana to the fox along with mental assurances that he wouldn't hurt it. The fox tiled its head but calmed down considerably. Now all Harry could sense from it was confusion.

He spent several hours 'talking' to the fox. He would send over images and memories and emotions then the fox would send them back. Eventually he sent the fox a picture of his cupboard and a 'farewell' before he stood up and left for home.

Harry slept until noon.

.oOo.

It had been another year and again Harry was left alone. This time the Dursleys had left a week earlier but they would be back at the same time. Harry didn't have anything to complain about.

In the past year Harry had made a lot of headway with his magic. He had mastered the novice and Intermediate tiers. He was running out of spells to practice. The only spells he hadn't learnt were fire spells. He wanted to learn a water spell that could put out any fires he made first.

As he was searching online for any spells that he hadn't encountered in the game he came across something interesting. Symphonia wasn't the only game to use magic the way it did. There was a whole series of games made by Namco called 'Tales'. 'Tales of Eternia', 'Tales of Phantasia', 'Tales of Vesperia' and many others also used magic the same way. Harry grinned and pulled out a spare note book. It took him two days but he eventually wrote down all the spells and had them organised by element and by difficulty.

He then began his magical training again.

.oOo.

Dudley had just turned eight. That meant that Harry was seven but he would be turning eight soon too. He had learnt a lot in his years. He dropped out of school but the authority's never asked why. The Dursleys made up something about him being home schooled and Vernon's friends in the police station faked some documents for him.

Vernon had been getting more and more aggressive lately so Harry had been spending more time in his clearing than in the Dursleys' house.

He sighed. It was getting harder and harder to live with them but it wasn't like he had anywhere to go. He spent the whole summer practicing spells. He had played through Tales of Symphonia so many times that he had practically memorised it word for word.

His spell casting was coming along nicely. It had taken him a while to get used to his increased mana core. He had managed to learn _**tidal wave**_ so he was able to learn the fire spells. He fired at a wall of earth he had made using some earth spells and put out any fires he started with tidal wave.

He managed to learn all the fire spells up to the level he had learned all the others by the time the Dursleys came back from their holiday.

.oOo.

Harry looked down at the ground. He had been running from Dudley's gang. He had somehow ended up on the roof of the community centre. When the boys gave up and left Harry walked around the roof, looking for a way down. He spied a lamp post not far from the roof and a low hanging branch on a tree not far from that.

He jumped off the roof, landed on the top of the lamp post and leapt onto the branches of the tree. Two more jumps had him safely on the ground. He stood up straight and dusted himself down.

"Hey kid." He looked up at the man approaching him. "That was impressive."

Harry smiled. "Thank you, sir."

He smiled down at Harry. "You know, I teach some gymnastics classes here if you're interested in joining?"

Harry looked down at the ground. "No. No... I would like to but... I can't. I'm sorry." Harry turned and ran off into the forest. It didn't take him long to get to his clearing. He wasn't even breathing hard thanks to his physical training. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair which was getting kind of long. He had managed to persuade Petunia to let him grow it out.

His logic was that if it was longer he could put it in a ponytail and it might lie flatter.

Harry sat on his stump. So, he had somehow flown onto the community centre roof. He grinned. He had flown. He closed his eyes and began picturing wings. Oh that would be cool.

.oOo.

Harry tilted his head when he heard the mail slot clink. He didn't even have to wait to be asked to get the mail, he just did it. He knew what was expected of him.

The Dursleys only treated him like a slave now, after what happened with one of Dudley's friends. The boy had caught Harry alone but Harry had broken his arm in the ensuing fight. He accompanied the boy to hospital and apologised repeatedly to him and the boy's mother, the doctors and the police that the boys mum insisted were called. He was suitably charming the whole time and was very embarrassed, 'I'm sorry. I don't know my own strength sometimes. We were wrestling and I got him in a bad hold, he tried to buck me off, we slipped and I broke his arm. It was a complete accident, really. I didn't mean it. It happened so fast I couldn't do anything about it.'

The officers didn't press charges since Harry had so many more injuries than the other boy but refused to let the doctors have a look at him. He could heal it all later anyway.

Anyway, since the Dursleys avoided him a bit more now than they did before, Harry had a lot more free time. He was now almost eleven. It had been six years since he had first played Tales of Symphonia. One year since he had grown wings and gotten the enhanced senses of an angel.

It was more of a hindrance than a help sometimes. Bright light hurt his eyes and sound was so much louder.

He looked through the letters and saw one with his name on it just as he walked into the kitchen. He handed the rest of the stack to his Uncle but before he could leave the room Dudley stood up. "Dad! The Freak's got a letter!"

Vernon pounced on Harry and snatched the letter from his hand right after smashing him in the head. Harry held his mana back when it tried to heal him. Harry knew better than to try and claim the letter was his. Freaks don't own anything. He swished his waist length black hair behind him and stood up straight.

Vernon looked at the address on the letter and went very pale. He passed the letter to Petunia who went so white she made snow seem grey in comparison.

They moved him up to Dudley's second bedroom after this. It was about time. Despite the starvation Harry was still tall for his age and built like a tank. Not like Dudley though. Dudley was ridiculously fat. Harry had broad shoulders and was heavily muscled. The girls in the neighbourhood giggled whenever they saw him. Girls... who would ever understand them?

Anyway, for a week he got hundreds of letters. Vernon went a bit insane at one point and they all ended up on a shack in the middle of the ocean in a storm.

Not crazy at all, right?

Harry sat in the corner, it was cold and dark but it wasn't like that was any different than the hundreds of times he had been locked out at night.

A thunderous boom shook the air. Harry looked outside with his mana and found a huge person on the other side of the door. His mana wasn't fully human. Harry cloaked himself in the shadows and waited. After the second knock Vernon and Petunia came down the stairs. The third knock caused the door to fall out of the frame and land with a crash on the floor.

The giant figure outside the door came into the room and Harry drew back into the shadows as much as possible. What was this man here for? How was he only half human? What did he want?

Harry hoped he would be able to come out of this alive.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry stared at the half-human standing in the doorway. He stepped into the building and took a deep breath. "Sorry 'bout tha'." He stepped to the side off the door and picked it up with one hand, shoving it back into the frame.

Harry let out a silent breath of relief as the sound of the storm outside was muffled once more.

The man looked around. "Where's 'arry?"

Dudley looked frantically around the room and spotted Harry in the shadows. "There! There! He's there!"

Harry growled quietly and stepped out of the shadows. The man beamed down at Harry. His eyes were small and black but they shone with an inner kindness and genuine affection. Something that had never been directed at Harry before. "There ya are 'arry. Ah didn' see ya there fer a secon'. Goodness, look at ya. Las' time a saw you, ya were small enough ta fit in the palm of me 'and. How are ya?"

Harry glanced down at the man's massive hands. He would have probably been able to fit in the palm of his hands until he was about four. He narrowed his eyes at the man. "I'm sorry. Should I know you?"

The man blinked. "Well, pro'ly not. Ya were only a babe at the time. I'm Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of grounds and keys of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You know all about Hogwarts o'course."

Harry shook his head. "No. I'm sorry but I don't." _If I was a baby then did this man have something to do with me being left with them?_

The man- Mr Hagrid- seemed taken aback. "Never 'eard of 'ogwarts. Didn' ye ever wonder where yer mam an' dad learned it all?" _Ah, so this man knew my parents_.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Learned what?"

"Magic o'course!"

Harry narrowed his eyes further. "You need to leave. We're not falling for your tricks, Mr Hagrid. There is no such thing as magic." He walked past the man and pulled the door back off its hinges, an easy feat considering the door was just leaning in the frame. He gestured outside. "Leave."

Hagrid bristled and moved closer to Harry. He opened his mouth to say something but Harry shoved him out the door and stepped out after him. He pulled the door back into the frame and quickly used _**forced field**_ to cover them both from the storm. The sound was instantly muffled to nearly non-existent. "Sorry about that. They hate magic and go to such ridiculous lengths to pretend it doesn't exist. Anyway, my name is Harry Irving, formerly Harry Potter. It is very nice to meet you, Mr Hagrid."

Hagrid looked at the _**force field**_ in awe for a moment before his attention was snatched back to Harry. "Did you say Irving? Not Potter? Why would ya go and change yer name for?" He seemed genuinely upset and angry.

Harry sighed. "Mr Hagrid. I never knew my parents. They have never been here and I have no memories of them so I have no attachment to the name Potter. It is only ever said in utter hatred and disgust. I don't like the name. Besides, Lloyd Irving has been more of a father to me in the past six years than anyone else ever has." Isn't that sad? The closest thing he has to family is a character in a game. "I changed my name to Irving, although the change isn't legal. Anyway, why are you here?"

Hagrid blinked. "Oh, right, sorry. Here," He rummaged in his pockets, "...it's in 'ere somewhere..." He rummaged in more of his pockets, "Ah, here." He handed Harry an envelope. Harry looked at the address on the front.

_**Mr H. Potter.**_

_**Shack on a Rock**_

_**The ocean.**_

Harry turned the envelope over and looked at the wax seal on the back. He was shocked at how detailed it was. Wax usually did not behave like that. The seal was a shield split into four with an H in the middle and a lion, a badger, a raven and a snake in each of the four boxes. Beneath the shield was a small strip with the words 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus', though the text was far too small for a normal human to see. How did they get it so detailed?

Harry carefully opened the envelope, being careful not to break the wax seal. It broke and Harry huffed under his breath.

He pulled out the two sheets of parchment. The first one read,

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**_

_**Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin: First class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock of the Wizengammot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards)**_

Harry rolled his eyes, _well this guy isn't full of himself at all_.

After reading the rest of the letter and the list of equipment he raised his eyebrow.

_Okay, firstly, 'parents are reminded that first years are not allowed their own brooms'. Brooms? Really? People actually fly on brooms? Also, reminded? How would they know in the first place? And second. Where in the Nine Levels of Niflheim am I supposed to get any of this_? "Mr Hagrid? Is this the letter they give to everyone?"

Hagrid shook his head. "No. This is the one they give ta the 'alf-bloods and the pure-bloods. The Muggleborns get a diff'r'nt one an' one of the teachers come an' see them personally."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "Then why was I not offered that courtesy? I only know magic exists because I can do it, I don't know anything else, let alone an entire magical society. My relatives are not magic-users, why did you expect me to know anything about magic, or a magical school or where to get any of these?" Harry held up the letter.

Hagrid blushed. "Well, since yer mam was a witch we thought yer Aunt would tell you about it."

_We? So, he had something to do with me being dumped on their doorstep but there was someone else involved. _Harry shook his head. "She hates her. Any mention of my mother sends her into a tiff that usually lasts for days." A particularly loud clap of thunder shot through the air causing Harry to slam his hands over his ears. "This is not a good place for a conversation." He looked down at the dock. "How did you get here?" The only boat there was the one the Dursleys used to get there.

"Um... I flew."

Harry quirked an eyebrow, trying to picture this man on a broom. It would have to be a big broom. He looked around and saw the rain falling on something not too far away. The way the rain was falling showed that this thing was horse shaped but when it shook Harry was able to make out the outline of wings. Harry raised an eyebrow. "Invisible horse with wings?"

Hagrid smiled. "It's called a thestral. Ya can only see them if ya've seen death."

Harry nodded. "Are we able to go somewhere a little... dryer than a rock in a storm?"

Hagrid looked over at the thestral. "Well... alrigh'. We'll 'ead to London." Hagrid got on the creature and it was rather strange seeing it since it looked like the man was sitting on air. Harry climbed up and put one foot on either side of Hagrid's waist and held onto his shoulders.

The flight was nerve racking. Harry much preferred to fly on his own wings. He was so tempted to bring them out at so many times throughout the flight. His _**force field**_ kept the worst of the winds from them, stopping the thestral from being blown about too much.

They landed a few hours later and Hagrid led Harry into a pub. Harry 'heard' the thestral whinny quietly and he cast _**Charge**_ on the poor animal. He felt its mana perk up and a sense of appreciation from it as it took off and flew north.

Harry turned around and followed Hagrid into the pub. Hagrid was talking to the man behind the bar in hushed tones. He passed some money over and got two keys in return before he beckoned Harry to follow him. He led him upstairs and stopped outside a door. "This one is your room fer the night Harry. Here's yer key. Sleep well. I'll wake ya in time fer breakfast."

Harry nodded and took the key from the man who went into the room exactly opposite him. Harry sat in his room for a short while before going back downstairs. He didn't really need to sleep anymore and even if he could there was no way he would with all this happening. Seriously? A man who is only half human shows up at midnight in the middle of nowhere, claims to have known his parents, tells him he's a wizard and takes him off to London. And he was expected to be okay with that? In theory no, but anything was better than the Dursleys.

Harry didn't have any money so he wasn't able to get any of his school things but he was able to hide in the shadows and observe people and get a better feel of the situation. He noticed a number of people coming in from the door at the back and slipped through.

It was just Harry's luck that when he did so the wall split open and revealed a hidden alleyway behind the pub. Harry slipped in past the man who had just come out.

Most of the shops would be closed at this time but that didn't mean Harry couldn't look to see what there was. He used his mage sight to look at buildings as well. There was a clothing store called Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. It looked really expensive. There was a number of book shops, a few stationary shops, a wand shop, what looked like a newsagents and a number of other stores. He looked down a street called Knockturn alley and shrugged. There were a lot of people down there still.

He wandered down that alley. All the patrons looked really shady. Some weren't human. In fact, most of them weren't- Was that a vampire? Harry stared at the man sucking on another man's neck. The man smiled at Harry when he caught his eye so Harry assumed nothing was wrong and carried on walking. It looked surprisingly intimate.

The shops here were much cheaper and some of them seemed to be good quality. There was even a store that sold staves. Harry was _so_ getting one of those. As well as a pair of swords. He _had_ to get dual swords. They were the only things Harry was willing to splurge on. Ending up with very little amount of money in the game had taught Harry to budget and never having a lot of things taught him the difference between needing something necessary and wanting something unnecessary.

He kept running out of money for gels because he spent it all on weapons and food even though you didn't need food in the game and he already had decent weapons.

After wandering Knockturn for a while he went back up to Diagon to the only place that was open. Gringotts bank.

He looked at the curious creatures outside the door and approached them. "Excuse me, I don't wish to sound rude but I have never met someone like you before. What race are you?"

The one on the left sneered at him and the one on the right glared and answered. "We're goblins."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Goblins? Hmmm. I didn't know they actually existed. Your mana is very different than a human's."

The goblin snorted. "Mana? What's that?"

Harry smiled gently and charged his mana into a healing spell. The spell circle appeared beneath his feet, glowing brightly in the dark. "This is mana. An energy present in every living thing in the world. It is more essential to life than water. With no mana, there is no life. It is present in everything, even non-magic-users."

The goblins stared at the spell circle for a moment before looking up at him curiously. "What kind of spell is that?" the one on the right asked.

Harry smiled. "This one is a healing spell. It cures all physical ailments. I also know one to cure all magical ailments."

The goblins looked at each other for a moment before whispering in their own language. Harry listened in interest. It was harsh and rough. Like German. The one on the left stepped forwards. "Follow me, Sir." He led Harry into the bank and stopped to talk to someone else in that language. Harry muttered some of the sounds he heard under his breath, rolling them around his tongue. It was very difficult to produce those sounds.

The new goblin beckoned Harry over. "Follow me." He led Harry to a cart that went through many twisting tunnels and down further than Harry thought anyone could build anything. They stopped by a huge city and were stopped by another goblin. More hushed whispers and both goblins led Harry through the city to a large building near the centre. From what Harry could see this seemed to be a home for someone of great importance.

After more arguing with more guards Harry was led inside the building and into someone's room. There was a goblin lying on the bed. Harry's eyes widened as he took in the sight of him. His mana was very weak. Only a few more days and he would be dead without a doubt.

Harry immediately cast healing spells. The first thing he did was cast _**Inspect Magic**_ to find out what the problem was exactly. The results weren't something Harry had ever seen before so he knew it wasn't a physical injury. His inexperience completely counteracted any skill or power he had.

Harry quickly decided to just cast a wide range of spells and see what ones had an effect. _**Anti-Magic**_ had no effect so it wasn't a spell. _**Dispel **_had the same results. _**Cure**_ had a slight effect. _**Detoxify**_ had a dramatic effect on the cause of the problem so Harry cast it a few times. Since he was so inexperienced with magic he wasn't casting on himself he knew he was being really inefficient.

When he was sure the poison (And it was a poison since that was what _**Detoxify**_ cured) was gone he started casting _**Heal **_and _**First Aid**_. Within a few uses he dropped to his knees and a few more had him leaning against the wall. He finally stopped casting when he felt like he would collapse any second and sat heavily on the floor from his kneeling position. He breathed heavily for a few moments before weakly lifting his head and glancing up at the goblin on the bed, who was now sitting against the headboard and staring down at Harry.

Harry smiled weakly and lifted one hand to wipe the sweat of his forehead. "You should be fine now. Just rest up, eat well and take it easy. And try to avoid whatever it was that poisoned you in the first place." Harry paused when his guide began to speak before he realised that he was translating for him.

There was some furious shouting amongst the goblins in the room for a moment before the one on the bed held up a hand for silence. The guide translated for him again. "Are you certain it was poison?"

Harry nodded. "I used a couple of different spells but the only one that had any effect was the one specifically for poison. It was definitely a poison."

The goblin hummed. There was some more muttering and another goblin stepped up to the bed. This one was in a white uniform so Harry assumed she was a healer. She cast some spells and said something. Harry was starting to get irritated with being unable to understand them. The one on the bed turned back to Harry and the guide translated. "You have saved my life human. I would have never thought that the one to heal me would be one of those who despise us and our kind. I owe you a great debt of gratitude."

Harry smiled. "Irving vow number two; never abandon someone in need. I was happy to help. Anyway, I have nothing against your kind. I only found out you exist just now. Besides, every life has value just in being born." The goblins all looked at Harry strangely when his guide translated again.

What followed then was about an hour of negotiations. As it turned out the goblin who had been poisoned was the King of the British goblin nation.

When the goblins asked for his name and he replied with Harry Irving a small light flashed on his guides ring. The guide looked at him suspiciously. "What is your real name?"

Harry sighed. "My given name was Harry Potter but I've never used it. I went by Irving before I knew my name was Potter."

The goblin glance at his ring and looked back up at Harry, surprised. "You're Harry Potter?"

Harry nodded. "Yes."

What followed next was a few hours of negotiations. Harry failed to persuade them not to swear their allegiance to him. He was quite happy with the offer of a sword though and told them that usually used dual swords. They readily agreed to make them for him.

He was given a money pouch tied into his account so he didn't need to come into the bank to withdraw money. He also got a bag. It was small, black and attached to his waist with a belt-like strap. It was bottomless and feather-light so he could store all of his belongings in it. Both of these had anti-theft charms as well as spells that ensured that Harry was the only one who could see, feel, use and remove the bags.

The few hours gave Harry a bit of time to rest after the spells but he still felt like he could sleep for a week. He was then led up to an office near the top of the bank and introduced to a goblin named Hookfang, who was apparently his account manager and was in charge of his family's vaults and assets.

Because apparently his family was loaded.

Go figure.

He legally changed his last name to Irving, read over a brief audit of his account and looked over the transactions taken since his parents' deaths. He demanded all the money that had been paid to the Dursleys back as well as from Dumbledore who had been taking money and items from his account from the same day of his parent's deaths. The man hadn't even waited for them to be put into the ground.

Once that was done Harry was given his family Heir ring. He would be given the Lordship ring when he turned seventeen or was emancipated or married, whichever came first. He and Hookfang talked for a while about Harry's powers. After Hookfang told him about the wizarding public Harry decided it would probably be better if he kept his powers a secret. He had no intention of being used for other people's gain.

"So, Lord Irving, how exactly did you learn these powers? It's not something I've ever seen before."

Harry looked to the side. He would have to trust someone and since Hookfang was in charge of his vaults he would have to trust him and trust was two ways. If he wanted Hookfang to trust him he would have to trust Hookfang. Harry sighed and explained about Tales of Symphonia, the elves, dwarves, half-elves and angels, about mana, summon spirits and anything else he could think of.

Hookfang hummed. "Hmmm. Interesting..."

Harry tilted his head in question. "Hmm?" He glanced up at the clock and winced. "I'm sorry, Hookfang. Could we carry this on later? I kind of left the pub last night without the man who brought me here knowing I left. He will worry if I'm not there."

Hookfang laughed. "Of course, Lord Irving. Come back on Tuesday, your swords will be ready by then and we can go over some more details about your account."

Harry grinned ecstatically. "Thanks!"

"My pleasure, Lord Irving. The goblin nation owes you a great debt."

Harry bowed slightly and left the office. He quickly made his way back to the pub and back into his room. He slept for a short while before Hagrid knocked on his door. Over breakfast Harry sheepishly explained what had happened last night, leaving out his venture into Knockturn and what kind of healing magic he used. Hagrid laughed. "Only you, 'arry. Only you could do tha'!"

Harry laughed. It was just his luck that he couldn't walk into the bank without earning the allegiance of the entire goblin nation by saving their dying king. Nothing stayed simple when he was involved.

After breakfast Hagrid took Harry clothes shopping. He deemed that more necessary than getting his school supplies and Harry couldn't help but agree with him. They had a minor argument (as minor as a half giant can get) when Hagrid was adamant that Madam Malkin's was the only place for his school robes and Harry refused to go in until he was sure that it was the only one and since he needed other clothing anyway he might as well ask in the other clothes stores around the alley. He stormed off and dragged Hagrid with him.

They ended up finding school robes of much better quality with some enchantments such as heating, cooling and protection spells for a much lower price than Madam Malkin's. Hagrid was suitably apologetic but Harry shrugged him off. The man had obviously been told that Madam Malkin's was the only place so he had no reason to think any different.

Over the course of the day Hagrid had gotten into the habit of calling him Irving instead of Potter. And since Harry kept his ring in his bag no one thought any different.

Except for the tailor who did Harry's formal robes. Since they needed the Potter crest on them they had to tell the tailor who Harry was. It was tiring. Clothes shopping was so boring. Harry was eventually allowed down from the stool and changed into one of his new sets of clothes. Wearing a red jacket of course. His money pouch was clipped to a hook just on the inside of his bag, which was fastened to his waist. He also got a tie and did his hair up like a samurai. It looked kind of cool.

Hagrid turned to the bank. "Right. I've got official business to attend to. Can ya manage on yer own fer a while? I'll meet ya at Fortescue's later."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. That's fine. I'll see you later." He watched as Hagrid disappeared into the bank and went straight down Knockturn alley. He easily found the custom wand place and opened the door, the bell above it tinkling pleasantly when he did so.

The man in the shop looked up at Harry as he entered. "Hey kid. Looking for a spare wand?"

Harry shook his head. "No sir, I don't have a wand yet. I was wondering if you could help me with that issue?"

The man smiled. "Of course. You've come to the right place. Let's get you tested shall we? First we need to see what kind of wood suits you best." he pulled a tray over. "Hold your hand over this and send some of your magic through them." Harry did as asked. Three of them started glowing but one was clearly the brightest. The man nodded. "Alright then." he pulled up another three trays and put the first one away. These three trays were covered in the wood that had glowed brightest. Harry waved his hand over the trays and one wood really stood out from the rest, glowing quite brightly.

The man nodded and they repeated the process with various different types of core until they found the right combination. As the man put them together he asked Harry some questions about the wand like what spells he wanted crafted into it and if there was any kind of design he wanted for the handle.

He ended up with anti-theft, anti-summoning, and unbreakable charms into the wand. He also got a holster with an automatic summoning charm on it. If his wand got more than six feet away it would automatically appear back in the holster. While in the holster it was protected from damage.

The wand maker winked and told Harry that since he didn't ask for it, he hadn't put the trace on the wand so he was able to use magic outside of school. Harry chuckled and nodded, paid the man, with a bit of a tip, and left for the staff store next door.

The man behind the counter made Harry hold a small glass ball. When he did the numbers 15,943 appeared. The man stared at Harry in shock for a moment before shaking his head and starting a similar process to the wand maker. Harry had a lot more to say about the appearance of his staff though. He basically got a staff that looked exactly like Martel's but was made of the same materials as his wand. He placed the staff in his bag and thanked the man, paying in full with a tip. If he ever had to come back he wanted these people to think nicely of him.

When he got to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour Hagrid was there waiting for him. "Sorry I'm late, Mr Hagrid. I went to get my wand while you were in the bank."

Hagrid smiled. "That's fine 'arry. Shall we be off then? Lots to do."

Harry nodded. "Books first? That way I can read them tonight if we don't get everything by the time the shops close."

Hagrid nodded and they set off down the alley. Harry ended up dragging Hagrid to several stores before he found the ones with a good quality for cheap. He didn't even think about second hand. He had enough second hand things without _buying_ things second hand. Anyway, best save that for the people who couldn't afford new ones. It ended up taking most of the day.

By the time he finished buying books the shops were closing for the day so he and Hagrid called it a night and went back to the Leaky Cauldron for dinner.

As they passed Eyelops Owl Emporium for Martel knows how many times that day the snowy owl near the shop front started screeching and beating her wings. Harry looked over to her. She did that every time they've been past today. The shop was just closing but Harry slipped in and stepped up to the cage. The owl looked at right at him. Harry tilted his head and reached out to feel her mind.

Talking with animals with his mind was difficult since animals didn't speak English. They communicated using various different sounds for different meanings so when communicating with their minds they spoke with emotions, fragments of memory or images.

He got an 'about time' and a sense of irritation. He sent back an apology and received an acceptance in return. He sent to owl a sense of curiosity and she sent back an exasperated 'are you stupid or something?' feeling. Harry sent a bit if irritation across the bond with a firmer sense of question. The owl practically rolled her eyes and huffed at him.

The shop keeper walked over. "Blimey, looks like you've got yourself a familiar lad. That's not very common. especially this fast." He took the snowy owls cage down and took her over to the counter before picking up a number of other items around the shop. "Now, since she's your familiar I can't charge you for her but I can charge you for the rest of this. What of it do ya need?"

Harry sighed. "All of it. And a book on owl care. I've never had a pet before."

The man huffed. "This aint no pet, lad. She's a familiar. The two of ya have a unique bond. It will get stronger as time goes by. I can sell ya a book on it if ya want."

Harry sighed and nodded. He put all the equipment in his bag (including the cage after some verbal and mental protests from the owl) and left with the bird on his shoulder.

After a quick glance at the book he ordered some extra bacon for her when he and Hagrid sat down for dinner. After dinner Harry retired to his room and at the owl's insistence read the book on familiars. By the end of the book he felt he understood the difference between a familiar and a pet. A pet was any old animal you pick up, they die, you replace them, simple as that.

A familiar was something more. They were a companion. A wizard and familiar had a unique bond of understanding, a friendship that could never be replaced. In some cases they were even known to share magic and abilities and the familiar even shared their partner's life span. Harry smiled at the owl and spent several hours thinking of a name. She outright rejected anything he thought of from Symphonia. Eventually he looked through his books and they agreed on the name Hedwig, after a woman from his history book.

Harry rolled his eyes. Women. Who would ever understand them? Even when they were birds.


	3. Chapter 3

**RebeliousOne** asked a very good question. "_Why hasn't Harry defended himself with his magic? I'm not saying he should behave like a young Tom, but he can cast spells to calm them down, ignore him, etc so that they don't bother him and he is not hurting them either. That is my only complaint. Why would he allow himself to be treated like a slave when he doesn't have to?_"

I feel the need to answer this one here since many of you will now be wondering the same thing.

The reason Harry hasn't defended himself with magic is because he _can't._ While he knows magic exists and can use spells like the ones in Symphonia, the healing spells wouldn't scare the Dursleys off and the battle spells would do too much damage. No matter how much he hates the Dursleys, he is a healer and intentionally causing harm to others is something that Harry is emotionally unable to do unless in self defence.

While he knows that it is unfair to treat someone they way they treat him, the fact that they have told him his whole life that he is a freak has given him that kind of mindset. He thinks he's abnormal and the fact that he can do magic only intensifies it.

Also, the fact that while Vernon used to hit him, he stopped when he realised that Harry could easily break his neck without trying or using magic.

If Harry had knows spells like those that wizards use then he would have used them. While Harry knows magic exists before Hagrid gave him his Hogwarts letter, he _didn't_ know about magical Britain and as far as he was aware, no one else could do magic.

*****STORY START*****

By morning Harry had bonded a bit with Hedwig and read a bit of his books. He was a slow reader by most standards. He was a fast reader when he was younger but when he got a higher score than Dudley on a test Vernon was quite upset so Harry stopped trying to improve himself. He let his reading and writing skills fall back and when he was pulled out of school they dropped further.

Around one in the morning Harry settled down on the bed and meditated.

Meditating for such long periods of time meant he was able to look deeper into situations and analyse people in more detail than before.

Hagrid was a bit of an idiot but he was a gentle soul and genuinely cared. The only problem was that he had a bit of a lose tongue and was prone to blabbing secrets. He spoke far too freely about his fellow members of staff and told Harry a few things he probably shouldn't have, such as him not being allowed to keep his wand but having it anyway, and using it.

Harry thought back to dinner last night and frowned.

Over dinner Hagrid had told him about Voldemort and the last war. He told him about what the wizarding world was expecting of him. Harry had no intention of putting himself in that kind of spotlight. He intended to stay hidden. He told Hagrid he could tell the staff at Hogwarts what his name used to be since they would ask questions.

What upset him though, was when Hagrid was telling him about the Houses as Hogwarts. As soon as the man started talking about Slytherin Harry felt a hatred for the house of snakes. The man who murdered his parents was from that house and so where all his death eaters.

This went against _everything _Harry believed in.

He would never hate a group of people just for the actions of some. Take Genis and Raine for example, they were both half-elves, the Desians were half-elves, the Desians did many bad things but Raine and Genis hadn't. He wasn't going to hate them because they were half-elves. Why would he suddenly hate Slytherins? Not all of them were Death Eaters.

He excused himself to the bathroom and quickly cast** dispel **and** cure**. The hatred went away and he frowned. Something was making him hate a whole group of people. When he went back to the table he carried on eating and the hatred came back full force. He excused himself again and cast the spells again. It was the food. There was something in the food making him think like that. It was either something the chef had done, something someone who supplied the chef with the ingredients had done or something Hagrid had done since the man was the one to bring the food over to their table. He had taken a while but Harry just thought it was him not wanting to drop anything.

Harry went back to the table and told Hagrid that the food wasn't agreeing with him and took his plate up to the counter before the man could do anything.

Harry told Tom that the food wasn't agreeing with him and Tom smiled. "You want something else or are you not hungry now?"

Harry smiled nervously. "Something else would be nice. I am sorry to be such a bother."

Tom grinned back. "No problem lad." He flicked his wand and the food dashed into the back room. Harry then saw that the food was cooking itself in there. There was no chef. He took the cheese toasty and apple juice back to his table and made sure he kept an eye on Hagrid. The food had no effect on him until he turned around to look out the window. When he looked back Hagrid was putting something away and as soon as Harry drank some of the juice the hatred came back.

It was Hagrid.

Hagrid was doing something to make him hate a whole group of people. But why?

What would he gain from this?

He gently probed the man's mind. If he was going to get any answers it would be there. There was nothing to indicate the man knew anything about the potion but when Harry looked closely at the memories he noticed Hagrid's memory burred for a moment both times when he could have put whatever it was that could have affected him in the food and drink.

Someone was controlling Hagrid and making him give Harry some kind of drug.

Who and why?

Harry opened his eyes and pulled the tiny vial from his pocket. When they had come up to bed Harry had made sure Hagrid was asleep and stolen the vial. There was still some liquid in it. He was going to ask Hookfang to get it tested on Tuesday when he went back to the bank.

Come to think of it, Hagrid was acting strangely during their argument about Madam Malkin's. Perhaps something was going on there. Harry shook his head. There was no use thinking about it now. He didn't know enough about this world and he couldn't start making assumptions. Based on the books he had read last night, magic made a lot of things possible that shouldn't be. Mind control potions for one.

Harry stashed the vial back in his pocket and glanced at Hedwig who was sitting on her perch with her head under one wing. She looked adorable like that, though she would probably peck his fingers off if she caught him thinking it.

Harry huffed quietly and thought back to last night. Hagrid had given him his train ticket but hadn't told him where to get the train.

"_Hagrid, where do I get the train from?"_

"_Platform nine and three quarters."_

_Harry raised an eyebrow. "What station?"_

"_Kings Cross, of course."_

_Harry huffed. This man gave so little information at times. It's like he thought this stuff was something Harry would know automatically. Or like it was something he didn't want him to know. "There is no platform nine and three quarters at Kings Cross."_

"_O'course there is."_

_Harry sighed. "Mr Hagrid. How do I get onto platform nine and three quarters?"_

_Hagrid looked over Harry's shoulder for a second and his eyes glazed over. "There will be someone there to show you how."_

Harry had frowned and dropped the matter. That was the same way Hagrid behaved outside the clothes store. And the way he spoke was completely different from his usual speech.

It was all rather strange. Perhaps Hookfang would know better. The goblin might also be able to point him in the direction of any other books that might be useful. He knew he needed to get another book on potions that had been mentioned as a reference guide in the potions book on the school list as well as one for Herbology which was basically magical gardening. Gardening was something he could do well so he knew he didn't have anything to worry about there.

The other subjects he knew would be difficult. Then again, if he was able to grow wings then he could damn well turn a matchstick into a needle and make a feather float.

He shook his head. There was no way he would be able to get that potion out of his head now. He would have to go to Hookfang now. He wanted to do it before Hagrid woke up. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and sighed. It was only four in the morning but it would have to do. He would apologise if he woke Hookfang up but he did need to see him.

He silently slipped some clothes on and slunk out of the pub, sending a quick smile at Tom when the man spotted him. Did the man ever sleep?

He made his way to Gringotts. The guards looked agitated. As he approached they took positions and blocked the entrance. As he came closer and they were able to see him better in the darkness of the alley they relaxed. One of them smiled nervously under his helmet. "Lord Irving, sir."

Harry inclined his head in greeting. "Did something happen?"

They exchanged glances. One of them cleared his throat. "Someone tried to break in."

Harry's eyes widened. "Is everyone alright? Was anything taken?"

The goblin shook his head. "No one was injured, sir, and nothing was taken. The vault had been emptied earlier today... or should I say yesterday..."

Harry nodded. "Was he caught?"

"No sir."

Harry sighed. "That's a shame. Anyway, am I allowed in? I need to speak with Hookfang."

The guards nodded. "Or course, Lord Irving. Go on inside." They moved to the side and let Harry in before taking their positions in front of the doors again.

Harry looked around the entrance hall. There were goblins rushing in every direction, many of them heavily armed. As he walked further into the bank a group of armed guards approached him with weapons drawn. "HALT! Intruder! Who are you? What is your business here?"

Harry blinked at them. He was about to open his mouth to reply when a wordless shout of shock, horror and fear echoed across the room. He and the guards all turned to stare at the one who had shouted. He rushed over shouting in goblin at the guards. The guards all tensed and looked at Harry in a mix of fear and apprehension. The leader of the little group swallowed hard and shook slightly. "L-Lord Irving... my apologies... I didn't mean to..."

Harry smiled. "That's quite alright. You didn't know who I was. As to what I am doing here, I am here to speak with Hookfang."

The guards nodded, still looking a bit unnerved and worried. The lead guard cleared his throat again. "Ah... of course... I'll take you to him. If you would follow me." He turned and hurried off, Harry easily keeping pace behind him.

It was not long before they stopped in front of Hookfang's office door. The guard knocked and Hookfang answered moments later. They spoke in goblin for a moment before Hookfang glared at the guard and sent him away. He smiled up at Harry. "Lord Irving. Come in."

Harry walked into the office and sat in front of the desk. Hookfang settled behind it. "So, Lord Irving, what can I do for you so early in the morning?"

Harry sighed. "Sorry. I do not mean to be an inconvenience. I am here for a couple of things actually. First, I need this checked. I need to know what it is." He pulled the vial out of his bag and handed it to Hookfang. "Someone had been slipping it into my food and making me hate a select group of people. I don't appreciate being drugged."

Hookfang frowned and pulled a bowl out from under his desk. He sat it on the desk and poured a few drops of the potion into the bowl. A piece of paper was used to absorb the drops of liquid and some text scrawled onto the paper.

_Compulsion potion, Hatred. Target: Slytherins_

_Brewed by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore._

Harry frowned. "So, he was the one making Hagrid drug me."

Hookfang frowned. "Someone was controlling the half-giant?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. _He's a half-giant? How the hell did that happen? Wait, on second thought, I don't want to know._ "I think so. He was acting unusual twice that I noticed and I glanced over his memories of the two times he could have drugged me. His memory gets fuzzy and blurred at those exact times as if someone wanted him to forget about it right after it happened."

Hookfang frowned and scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Well then, Lord Irving, let us check to see if he has done anything else to you. He was the one to place you with your current guardians so he had access to you to do anything while you were a baby. Follow me, if you please."

Harry stood and followed Hookfang out of the room. They went down a few long, twisting hallways and ended up in a huge, round room with a couple or archways around the wall. Each arch led to a long corridor with doors spaced out down them. In the centre of the room was a large white desk with a female goblin sitting at it doing paperwork. She glanced up as they entered before looking back down. Her head shot back up and she stared at Harry.

He smiled and waved.

Her eyes widened. "You're-" she shook her head and cleared her throat. "Lord Irving, Senior Accounts Manager Hookfang, what can I do for you?"

Hookfang frowned. "I need a full medical and magical history check for Lord Irving."

The lady gaped for a moment before shaking her head. "Of course, just a moment." She fiddled with something on the desk for a moment, speaking goblin into some kind of communicator. After a moment she looked back up. "Follow me." She led them down the first arch going clockwise from the door they came in through and they went into the first door there. There were two other doors inside this room. One was on the wall that joined with the room next door, the other led to a box room in the corner.

Hookfang looked up at Harry. "This is a ritual chamber." He pointed at the runic circle on the ground. "That is a runic circle. It channels the magic they way we want it to shape, much like your own." He pointed and the white crystals at different points in the circle. "Those are special crystals our healers use to focus the magic where they want it to go." He turned back to Harry and smirked. "Unfortunately any foreign magic would disrupt the ritual so we need you to remove everything. There is a loin cloth in the room there." He pointed to the small square room in the corner. "Go get changed while we wait for the healers."

Harry blushed lightly and went into the box room. It was a bit cramped. He stripped down and found the loin cloth on a peg on the wall. It smelled fresh and looked very clean thankfully. Harry folded his clothes and placed them on the chair with his bag on top. He tucked his socks into his shoes and slid them under the chair before leaving the room.

Hookfang and the lady both examined him critically. Harry blushed lightly and looked to the side. It was kind of embarrassing to be examined like that. He knew he had a nice figure. The training he put himself through over the years had piled some impressive muscle tone.

Thankfully the healers came in soon enough and Harry was directed into the centre of the circle. One of the healers nodded. "Now then, Lord Irving, this will take a while. This is the medical scan as it takes the longest. The more injuries you've had, the longer the scan. It will show every injury you have ever received as well as when and how and who did it if it was inflicted by someone, rather than accidental injury like falling over."

Harry nodded. "Alright."

She nodded again. "Right. Hold still and try not to move." She stepped into place and the healers all began chanting.

Harry could feel their magic flowing into the runic circle beneath him. It flowed across the patterns and the runes shaped it, forming the raw magic into something stronger, more focused, something with a defined purpose. The magic glowed the pale green most healing spells turned. When it reached the crystals they seemed to channel the power or the spell and turn it towards Harry.

He gasped slightly as the power of the spell flooded through him. He closed his eyes and used his mana sight to see the magic around him. It glowed brightly, flooding around the circle before moving to the crystals and flooding towards him. It filled his senses and sent tingles and mild electric shocks through him. He felt all his scars itch slightly as well as everywhere he knew to have been injured in the past that hadn't left a scar.

Needless to say there was very little of him that wasn't itching.

It was uncomfortable and he felt the need to squirm but forced himself to hold still. Squirming would do no good. It wouldn't take away the itching. Plus he wasn't sure the loin cloth would stay in place.

The spell dragged on for a long time, examining every part of him. He knew that whatever was listing his injuries would be longer than anyone else his age or maybe even twice his age.

The spell finally ended and Harry sighed. He glanced at the healer who had stepped forwards before and she nodded. He sighed and stood up, being careful not to dislodge the loin cloth. He had no intention of displaying his goods to the entire room.

He looked at the huge stack of papers that were piled high on the table. He winced, knowing they hadn't been there before. They contained the information from his scan.

Harry sighed and glanced at Hookfang who was scowling at the table, his face twisted in righteous fury. It felt nice to have someone so angry on his behalf. The healers and the lady from behind the desk were torn between the same as Hookfang or crying. Harry could imagine what they were feeling. He was primarily a healer himself so he could imagine what it would feel like to find someone who had been hurt as badly as he had been.

The lady, who might be the head healer, shook her head. "Let's do the other one and deal with this afterwards."

Harry nodded and followed the troop of healers into the next room.

It was very similar to the other but the circle on the ground was of a different design. Again, he was directed to lie down and was positioned where he needed to be. As the goblins started the ritual Harry grit his teeth. It wasn't that it was painful or unpleasant, it was simply a feeling he was unused to. The way the magic of the ritual flowed through him, stroking his magic, lifting to the surface of his skin and examining every part of him. It was unusual but not a feeling he would hate to experience again.

If he had to give magic a colour he wouldn't be able to. It was a colour he had never seen before he was able to see magic but was somehow completely familiar, as if it was always there, at the edge of his senses but never in his conscious mind.

When the ritual finished he stood up and Hookfang took his documents off the table and they went into the other room. Harry went back into the box room and got his clothes back on. It was a relief to get something on, the loin cloth made him feel exposed.

When he stepped out the room he saw Hookfang, the lady from behind the desk and the lady he was definitely beginning to think was the head healer. Hookfang nodded. "Well then, Lord Irving. We will be going over the results in my office. This is Athena, she is the head healer here." Harry smirked inwardly, he was right. "She will be joining our conversation if that is alright with you."

Harry nodded. "Yes, that's fine." He turned and smiled at Athena. "It is a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

The lady smiled. "And you as well, Lord Irving." She turned to Hookfang and whispered, "He's so polite, I was expecting someone brattier since he is eleven."

Hookfang just smiled and nodded before leading them to his office, the medical scan results floating along behind them. When they got to Hookfang's office they put the files on his desk and Hookfang rummaged around for a bit before pulling out a few boxes. He sat behind the desk and looked at Harry. "Now, Lord Irving. I need to send a copy of your scan results to St Mungo's, the wizards' hospital in London. It won't be as thick as this," he waved at the giant stack of paper. "It will be much more condensed and the smaller injuries won't even be listed."

Harry nodded. It made sense for the hospital to have a copy of his medical history. "That's fine."

Hookfang nodded. "I had a cursory look through these while you were having your magical scan. We need to send a full copy of the list to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The DMLE. The head, Madam Amelia Bones, is a very fair woman and always does what is right."

Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. With the evidence here there was no way the Dursleys would not get in trouble for what they've done. He slowly gave a shaky nod and Hookfang smiled. "Good. First, let's go through these shall we?"

The spent a good two hours going over the results of his medical scan. Athena was practically in tears by the end of it and Hookfang looked like he wanted to kill someone. He sighed and pulled himself together. "Let's go over the magic scan results first before we do anything." He picked up the sheets. "We will be sending an edited version of this list to St Mungo's as well."

**Magical scan results for; Irving, Harry James Lloyd. AKA Potter, Harry James.**

**Age 7 months, accidental magic, levitation spell. Target; blades of grass.**

**Age 15 months, protection spell, blood magic, A**_**nimam pro anima. **_**Caster, Lily Potter.**

**Age 15 months, killing curse, failed due to **_**Animam pro anima.**_** Caster, Tom Riddle Jr.**

**Age 15 months, binding spell, magical core, 95%. Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 15 months, binding spell, cognitive function, 50%. Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 15 months, binding spell, magical ability, Mage Sight and Mage Sense, 100%. Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 15 months, binding spell, magical ability, Telepath, 100%. Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 15 months, loyalty charms, various, targeted towards; Gryffindor, Albus Dumbledore, Weasley family. Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 15 months, repulsion charms, various, targeted towards; Slytherin, snakes, Severus Snape, Malfoy family, Death Eaters, Tom Riddle (AKA Voldemort). Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 15 months, anti-healing spell, target half healed wound on Harry Irving's forehead. Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 15 months, Mail redirection ward (excluding; Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore) to vault 688 at Gringotts wizard bank. Caster, Albus Dumbledore.**

**Age 5 years 3 months, removal of all charms except for **_**Animam pro anima**_**. Caster, Harry Irving.**

**Age 8 years 2 months, accidental magic, apparition. Location, the roof of a nearby building.**

**Age 8 years 4 months, semi-accidental magic. Enforced Angelus Toxicosis, full transformation.**

**Age 11 years, familiar bond with snowy owl, Hedwig.**

Harry whistled. "That is a lot of spells." Hookfang and Athena nodded. "What's a mail redirection ward?"

Hookfang pulled out some more parchment and looked them over for a while. "It is a spell that re-directs all of your mail to a vault here in Gringotts. Have you received any mail since you removed it?"

Harry shook his head and thought. He had read in the owl care book that owls could find anyone you write a letter to. "No... no, but by the time I removed it I had already started to go by Harry Irving. I guess, maybe the magic that lets owls find the person the letter was addressed to couldn't find me since I was going by a different name."

Hookfang nodded. "Yes, I have the vault audit here." he held up one of the pieces of parchment. "There was a huge rush of letters at first, a large number on each of your birthdays and on Halloween each year as well as a few here and there but it suddenly stops shortly after your fifth birthday."

Harry nodded. He had only known about Tales of Symphonia for a few months at that time but since he had no family, he liked to imagine he was Lloyd's son so he pretended his name was Harry Irving. It wasn't until a few months after he removed the spells that he learned his name was Potter but by then he had already gotten used to calling himself Irving so he hadn't bothered to change it back.

Athena turned to look up at Harry. "What does that second last one mean?"

Harry sighed. "I was trying to grow wings and accidentally did something different. I still got the wings but I lost my ability to feel pain and my need to eat and sleep along with enhancing my senses or sight and smell." He shrugged and pulled the wings out. The room was illuminated in a faint, white light as his wings spread out as much as they could in the office. They greatly resembled a bird's wings, each one now a good seven feet in length when fully stretched out, giving him a total wing span of fourteen feet. He smiled and ran his fingers of his right hand through the feathers of his right wing. They were soft to the touch. He couldn't figure out if they were actually there or not since they went straight through his clothes, walls, trees and anything else solid but he was able to touch them.

His eyes widened at an unusual sensation and his whole body tensed. Apparently other people could touch them as well. He looked at Athena who was running her fingers through his wing. It didn't hurt but no one had ever touched his wings before so this was a feeling that was entirely new to him. He carefully moved his wing away and folded them both behind his back.

Athena looked him over and blushed lightly. "My apologies, Lord Irving. Did I hurt you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, no you didn't hurt me. It was just an unusual feeling. No one has ever touched my wings before."

Athena nodded in understanding. "I think that when we send the list to St Mungo's it might be a good idea to not include that one on the list." She grinned. "Since it wasn't full accidental magic it won't show up on any scan the humans at the hospital would do and it didn't show up on the medical scan." She looked over it again. "You can't feel pain?"

Harry nodded. "I still know I'm in pain. I can feel things but pain doesn't affect me. It's like being aware of your arm. It's there, you can feel it, but it being there doesn't really affect you... that makes no sense... um... I can't feel pain but I know when I'm injured... if that makes sense?"

Athena nodded. "Yes. Normally Congenital Analgesia, or the inability to feel pain, means that you cannot feel any pain at all, not even to be aware you are injured."

Harry nodded. "This is different than Congenital Analgesia." he smiled nervously, "I looked it up online when I realised I couldn't feel pain anymore. I thought it was some kind of infection or something but Congenital Analgesia was the only one I could find. I know it's not that, the symptoms don't match, nor do the causes."

Athena nodded and Hookfang rolled his eyes. "As interesting as all this medical jargon is, some people here don't speak 'doctor'."

Harry and Athena smiled sheepishly at Hookfang and Athena summed up what they had just said so Hookfang could understand. He nodded. "Right. So there is a medical condition that means people can't feel pain? Should we add that to his medical record to explain to any healers why he doesn't feel pain?"

Athena nodded. "Definitely. It will come up eventually and he can't act forever. Someone will ask so it would be best if we put it down as Congenital Analgesia."

Harry nodded. "Eventually something is going to happen that will mean I have to pretend to be in pain but I won't know exactly how much and someone will notice."

Hookfang nodded. "Right." he glanced over at the clock. "Lord Irving, does your escort know you're here?"

Harry grimaced. "No, he doesn't. He should be getting up soon. I should go, before he notices I'm gone. I will be staying in the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the summer unless something else comes up. If there is anything you need, let me know. If I have anything I need to tell you I will send my familiar."

Hookfang and Athena nodded and Harry rose to leave but was stopped by Hookfang. "Lord Irving, wings."

Harry glanced behind him and realised his wings were still folded behind him. He grinned sheepishly and put them away before leaving, easily remembering the way out. When he got to the entrance hall there was a group of humans arguing with a group of goblins. One of the goblins and two of the humans were noticeable more... 'well dressed' than their companions. Though Harry would never be caught dead in a plum coloured pinstripe suit.

Harry walked over. "Is something the matter here?"

Everyone looked over and the goblins straightened. The guards all bowed, the other goblins bowed lower to the ground and the well dressed goblin bowed slightly. "Lord Irving. No, nothing is the matter."

The humans who looked like reporters were scribbling rapidly on their notepads. The tall blond man silently sneered down at Harry while the man with bowler hat in his hands looked curiously at Harry, clearing his throat. "Mr Erring is it? Yes, these goblins are denying people access to the bank. Simply outrageous. Do something."

The goblins sneered and snapped at him in goblin. A few of the guards pulled out weapons and one of them stepped forwards but Harry held up a hand and he stepped back. The well dressed goblin sneered. "And you wonder why we don't like dealing with your kind. _Lord Irving_ is a nobleman with the eternal allegiance of the British goblin nation, both in _and_ out of the bank." He turned to Harry. "Lord Irving. Due to the break in last night we are running some security checks and sweeps of all the floors along with a full audit of all of our accounts. The bank is not fully out of service, we still exchange British pound sterling for galleons but as of yet, no one can access their vaults. It is merely a security measure, standard procedure. We will be open for business again in a few hours. No later than nine AM."

Harry smiled and nodded before turning back to the man with the bowler hat. "There, standard procedure, I don't see the issue here? The people of this bank are only ensuring that all of the vaults are secure and that nothing was taken. I am sure everyone with a vault here would appreciate the measures these people are taking to ensure the safety of their assets. I, myself, am glad they are being so serious about their security. If they were not so strict on security measures I would be worried about the safety of the contents of my vaults. I know for a fact that they have been up all night working on the issue."

The well dressed goblin nodded. "Indeed. We take the security of our vaults very seriously. Nothing was taken last night as the vault in question had been emptied earlier that day. We are simply following procedure at this point to ensure that everyone with a vault here at the bank can be assured their vaults are perfectly safe."

Harry nodded and looked at the well dressed goblin. "If you have things handled here, I have another engagement I do not wish to be late for."

The goblin bowed. "Of course, Lord Irving. Do not let me keep you."

Harry inclined his head and headed out the bank, hearing one of the reporters speaking up as he left. "Lord Ragnarock, Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet, are you saying that we have nothing to worry about and the bank will be open for business as usual, at nine AM?"

The well dressed goblin, who Harry now knew to be Lord Ragnarock, nodded. "Yes."

Harry didn't hear the rest of their conversation as he walked out of the bank and hurried to the leaky cauldron. He slipped into his room and glanced at the clock, six AM. Good. He had a few hours to go before Hagrid woke up. He liked Hagrid, he really did, but the man was so loud that he hurt Harry's sensitive hearing and the fact that someone was controlling him so easily worried him.

Hopefully he would be away from the man soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**iTruth Is What You Make Of It** asked: Why does Harry have wings?

This had been explained in the last chapters but I must not have made it clear enough, sorry guys.

When Harry accidentally apparated onto a building to escape Dudley and his gang he thought he flew, rather than teleporting. His magic then kicked in and forced the angel transformation since it would not only give him wings but also help him survive the Dursleys, who worked him to the bone and starved him a lot of the time. His magic picked up on his subconscious wish to never be hungry or tired again.

It will come up later in more depth.

**Ddragon21**: Does telepathy count as occlumency?

Yes and no. Snape will explain at some point as well as a few other people before then, though Snape will go into the most detail. Telepathy is similar to legilimency but cannot be blocked by occlumency shields. It also blocks Harry's mind from cursory legilimency but he would actually have to learn to shield his mind to stop someone casting legilimens on him.

_**~#~Chapter Warning! Blood and character death!~#~**_

Story start!

When Hagrid knocked on his door Harry was already ready, having had a shower and put on his new favourite outfit. He had three of the jacket and seven pairs of trousers in this colour though they were of different materials, five of them being suited to winter wear and the other two being lighter summer materials. He only got that many sets of trousers since he had to work in the winter often enough to know that trouser legs tended to become soaked in seconds from the rain or snow on the ground.

Hagrid led them downstairs but Harry declined eating breakfast, citing a stomach ache from last night. Hagrid didn't think anything of it and they soon went out into the alley to get the rest of Harry's supplies. As they walked past the daily prophet building Harry shrugged and bought a twelve month subscription. There were a few other newspapers around and Harry checked them out before buying a subscription to some others too.

In the muggle world, everyone told news differently and some papers told stories that others didn't. Uncle Vernon was constantly complaining about one of the men at his work reading the Daily mirror, while Uncle Vernon himself read the Daily Express. There was no reason why the newspapers in the Wizarding world should be any different and since Harry knew so little about this world he figured it would be best to have a large range of information sources.

He ended up with a subscription to the Daily Prophet, the Daily Scroll, The Fuzzy Owl, The Courtroom, The Quibbler, Wizard Weekly, Potions monthly, The Astronomer, The Healer and The Gardener. (A.N. Descriptions of each of the papers is at the bottom.)

By lunchtime they had finished shopping and Hagrid took Harry home. Hagrid thought Hedwig was flying straight to Privet Drive but really she was still at the Leaky Cauldron as Harry had no intention of staying in Privet Drive. They took the subway this time instead of flying by Thestral. Harry felt himself dying of embarrassment as he had to apologise to practically everyone they walked past due to Hagrid forcing them to move aside. Honestly, he had to help a heavily pregnant woman push a double buggy with twins in it back onto the path from where she was forced onto the road by Hagrid not stepping to the side for her.

Hagrid's comments on muggles and their wonderful inventions did not help either.

Some people looked at Harry like he was taking his mentally disturbed Uncle out for a walk or something.

The train ride was embarrassing. Hagrid decided to pull out a set of giant needles and knit something. Harry huffed when one stop down a boy with crutches and a foot in plaster, a very, very pregnant lady and an elderly lady with a walking aid all got on. What were the chances of this happening? Really? He physically had to pull Hagrid to his feet to free up the seats for them. Besides, the man took up three seats on his own.

Harry held onto Hagrid's arm. "Hagrid, it is common courtesy to stand when someone who needs the seat more than you comes on. So they can sit down."

Hagrid tilted his head. "Well... how do ya know who needs it more?"

Harry sighed. "As a general rule, pregnant ladies, the elderly or the disabled. It isn't fair to make them stand when someone who is fully capable of standing without issue is taking up a seat."

Hagrid nodded. "Right. Okay. I didn't know tha'."

Harry nodded and patted the man's elbow. "Well, now you do."

At the next stop a lot of people got off so they were able to sit again. A short while later they got off and Harry insisted on getting a taxi on his own the rest of the way. Hagrid nodded and said goodbye before he disappeared off somewhere. Harry walked over to the cab station and got a cab back to Surrey. When they got close enough he got out and paid the driver, walking the rest of the way to Little Whinging.

On his way there an owl flew down and landed on his shoulder. He took the newspaper from it and thanked it before it flew away. A glance at the paper told him it was the Evening Prophet. He put it into his bag, resolving to read it later.

By the time he got to privet drive it was evening and the Dursleys would just be finishing dinner. He let himself in. "Honey, I'm home!" he called out, deliberately keeping his shoes on and tracking mud through the house. He heard movement in the sitting room and a clatter from the kitchen. Vernon and Dudley appeared in the doorway to the sitting room and Petunia poked her head out from the kitchen.

Vernon puffed up and went purple. "What are you doing here boy? I thought you went off with that freak?"

Harry nodded. "I did. I went and got my school stuff and came back."

Petunia huffed. "I take it you're going to that freak school then?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. Even better, there's somewhere I can stay when I'm not at school so I came to get my stuff and then I'm out of here and you will never see me again. How does that sound?" he didn't even wait for an answer. He went upstairs and started packing. The clothes he threw out straight off. He was not going to wear those rags. He put the set he had been wearing when Hagrid picked him up with the rest of them.

He took all of the books off the bookcase. He had no need of a pregnancy book right now but at some point in the distant future he was probably going to get married and have kids so it would help to have something to guide him on how to help his wife. He even took his and Dudley's old school books, though Dudley had more than him since he was pulled out of school so early.

None of the items in the room were worth keeping except for one thing in the desk draw. Harry sat on the bed and smiled down at the box in his hands. Tales of Symphonia. It had been a long time since he had last played it. Dudley had gotten a new games console and had tossed his GameCube into the attic. Harry put the game into his bag and went up into the attic. He found the GameCube with no trouble. He figured he could buy a T.V. later. He had money so he could buy a house later on but finding a GameCube would be much harder. He didn't think they even _sold_ them anymore.

Nothing else in the attic interested him so he went back downstairs and walked into the sitting room. He walked up the Vernon. "Goodbye forever." He turned around and faced Dudley. "I don't blame you for how you behaved. You were never told anything else. I hope you realise how unacceptable your attitude is at some point before you lose any chance you have at making any real friends or having a future." He walked into the kitchen and found Petunia doing the dishes. "I hope you regret what you've done. Maybe having to do all the housework yourself from now on will help you understand."

He walked over to the bookcase and pulled the draw open, taking out the recipe cards that used to belong to his grandparents, a few even having his mother's name on or being written by her.

He put them into his bag along with all of his cookbooks. "I would say I'll miss you, but that would be a lie neither of us want to hear. I know you held a grudge against my mother but you didn't need to take it out on me. I was a defenceless baby."

Petunia sneered. "You were a danger! Doing your freakishness all the time!"

Harry glared back. "I did '_my freakishness_' three times in my life and one of those times was before I came to live with you. The other two times were both away from you and your family. If you hadn't known I was a wizard before I came then you would never have known. I did nothing."

Petunia sneered again. "You're a freak. That's all that matters."

Harry smirked. "And you're half freak. You sister was a witch. You could very easily have been one too. And Dudley. It's hereditary. Even if you didn't get the gene it could have passed to Dudley or any of his children. It runs in the family."

Petunia paled dramatically and a strangled squeak from the next room indicated Dudley and Vernon eavesdropping.

Harry smirked and turned, walking down the hallway and out the front door. He didn't glance back even once. He got to his clearing and looked around. It was properly dark now so he spread his wings and took to the sky. He flew amongst the clouds, loving the feel of the wind in his feathers and hair, the soft moisture of the clouds. He was going to be soaked by the time he landed but it would be worth it.

All too soon he was flying over London and spotted The Leaky Cauldron. He gently touched down in an alleyway and folded his wings against himself. There was a strangled gasp behind him and he turned around. There was a tiny boy huddled against the wall in the shadows caused by the street lights. The glow from Harry's wings the only reason he noticed him there at all.

**~#~ WARNING! Blood and Character Death. Skip if you want.~#~**

Harry walked over and knelt down next to the tiny boy. He was badly injured. Harry looked the boy in the eye. He looked about four but he may have been older. Harry knew he looked a lot older than he was so it wasn't hard to think someone might look younger than they were. The look in the boy's eyes had tears springing into Harry's but he blinked them back and pulled his staff out. "What's your name, Little One?"

"Te-Terry." The boy gasped out. "You my-my angel?"

Harry nodded. "Yes Terry. I'm your angel, my name is Harry. I'm here now, okay?" He cast a few healing spells but no matter what he did the boy's mana was draining out of him. He was dying and Harry wasn't skilled enough to save him. Harry's breath sped up along with his heart rate and he desperately cast a few more spells. Nothing.

Nothing.

He wasn't strong enough.

Footsteps had Harry turning around to face the other boy who just arrived. He looked older than Terry, about nine. He had something in his arms. He glared at Harry and rushed over. "Get away from my brother!"

Harry stood up and caught the boy as he tried to tackle him. "Calm down little lion. I'm trying to heal him." He let the boy go and focused on healing Terry. Still nothing.

Terry smiled up at Harry. "Is 'kay, Harry. I'm 'kay."

Harry shook his head and turned to look at what the other boy had in his arms. Bandages. They would be of no use now. Harry shook his head and carried on casting healing spells. It was no use. The other boy sighed and leant against Harry. "It's not working is it?"

Harry tried not to sob as he shook his head. The boy nodded. "Mr Angel... can you take Terry into the clouds with you?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I can take him into the clouds with me. I will bring him back later so you can bury him properly." He paused for a moment. "Would you like to fly with us?"

The boy nodded and Harry put his staff away. He gently scooped Terry up with one arm and the other boy up in the other. He gently took off, taking to the sky. By this time the stars were out but you couldn't see them because of the thick layer of cloud. As Harry flew out of the cloud layer the boys both gasped. Terry smiled weakly. "Look, Stevie, stars..." he breathed in wonder.

Harry gently flew around a little bit. The boys both marvelled at how clear the stars were. Up here, above the thick layer of cloud, the light pollution was much less so the stars were much more visible. He let a silent tear run down his cheeks when he felt Terry's mana run out. The boy gave a quiet sigh and closed his eyes before his life force vanished completely. Harry swallowed hard and turned to the other boy. "Let's go back now, okay?"

The boy looked at Harry for a second before he understood and nodded. Harry flew back down through the clouds and landed back in the same alley as before. He set Terry down and Stevie cuddled up into him and wept. Harry sobbed quietly in the background. He didn't want to disturb the boy.

Clearly they were all the family each other had. They only had each other. If they had other family they would be with them and not alone on the street.

Harry wiped his eyes and looked over at Hedwig as she flew down and landed on his shoulder. He whispered to her for a moment and she nodded. She flew over and landed on Stevie's shoulder. He looked at her in awe. Harry walked over and knelt down. "This is Terry, Stevie. This is his spirit, ready to come with me up to heaven. He just wanted to say goodbye first."

He stepped back and tried to make it look like he wasn't eavesdropping. "Terry... I'm sorry. I should have protected you better. I'm your big brother. I'm supposed to protect you. I should never have trusted him. You told me not to but I did. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. But hey, you get to go and see mummy now. Tell her 'hi' for me, okay? I'll see you both someday, right? I'll see you both in heaven. And daddy too. Then all four of us can be together again. Just like before. Before mummy got sick and before daddy got sad. I'm sorry you had to see him like that. I should have been there. I was supposed to be home before you. You shouldn't have had to see him hanging like that, right in front of the door.

"I'm sure daddy is happy now that he's with mummy. And you're going there too now. You three can be together and watch over me right? You'll look out for me? I'm gonna be a scientist, just like we promised, remember? Then I can find ways to cure the illness mummy had so no one else will lose their mummy too. Do you remember that song she used to sing us? She can sing it to you again now. I know you always wanted to hear her sing it again.

"I'll miss you Terry. You be good in heaven okay? You be good and listen to mummy and daddy. I'll join you some day and you can tell me all about heaven and mummy and daddy and all the things you're going to do together. And then when I join you we can all be together."

Stevie sniffled and wiped at his eyes. "I'm gonna miss you so much Terry. I love you so much. So much... Terry... Terry..." his voice cracked and he rubbed his eyes again. "Te-Terry..." he broke down and sobbed into his hands. Hedwig hooted softly, rubbed her head against Stevie's hair and wrapped one of her wings around his head.

Terry lifted her up and hugged her gently to his chest. "Terry. I don't wanna say goodbye Terry! I don't want you to go! Please, don't go! Don't leave me alone! Please Terry! I need you! Please! Please! Please! Don't go!"

Harry walked over and gently took the boy into his arms. He turned into him and held on tight, allowing Hedwig to flutter back to the boy's shoulder. Stevie cried into Harry until he passed out, exhausted and chocking on his own tears. Harry wiped his own eyes and scooped the two boys up. A single glance at Hedwig and the owl knew what he wanted she flew along and Harry followed her through the alleyways until he finally came across a churchyard. He made sure no one was looking and walked inside.

It was late so he wasn't expecting anyone to be here but he was surprised when he saw someone sitting at one of the benches. As he walked over he realised the man was a priest. "Excuse me, Father?" he whispered. The man turned around and smiled at Harry briefly before his face dropped, he paled then his eyes widened and he jumped to his feet.

"We need your assistance." He settled the two boys down on a bench each and looked at the man. They moved slightly away before Harry whispered. "The younger of the two, Terry, died a few minutes ago. I don't know what his brother wants to do, whether he wants him buried here or somewhere else, I don't know. I thought that if anyone would be able to help him it would be someone from a church. I found them both on the street and Terry was badly wounded. He died shortly after I arrived."

The priest nodded. "I see. So you brought them both here? Thank you, Holy One. I can handle it from here."

Harry nodded and looked over at the boys. "I should go. I have a few more things I have to do tonight."

The pries nodded. "Of course, Holy One. Do not let me keep you."

Harry nodded and left quickly. Why did he keep calling him Holy One? He felt a cold breeze ruffle his feathers. Oh... wings... right... He got a few blocks away before he dropped to his knees and threw up.

He had seen people die in games before.

It was completely different to watch someone die in real life and be unable to help them. Seeing the light leave their eyes. Hearing them take their last breath. Feeling their mana vanish into the air around them. He shuddered and threw up again. Hedwig landed on his shoulder and he lifted one hand to gently run his fingers through her feathers but as he lifted it up he noticed the blood on it. He retched again and sobbed uncontrollably for a while before he stood up. He wiped his hand on his jacket, somehow finding a clean patch and took his jacket off. He folded it up and put it in his bag.

**~#~ Warning end.~#~** Basically, a kid died and Harry wasn't able to heal him. He took the kid and his older brother to a local church.

He sniffled and put his wings away before making his way back to The Leaky Cauldron, avoiding the same alley he had walked down before.

When he arrived at The Leaky Cauldron he got a room for the rest of the summer and went up. He sat on the bed for a second before standing up. He walked into the bathroom and stripped down, taking as hot a shower as was physically possible. He didn't feel it burning his skin but he knew it was.

When he stepped out he put the plug in the bath and let it fill while he got dressed. He took his soiled clothes and took them to the sink. He rinsed them out for a bit before he dunked them into the bath and scrubbed them properly. It was a while before he was satisfied his clothes were clean and took them back to the bedroom. Lay them out on the clothes rack by the bathroom door to dry. He hugged his knees to his chest and looked at Hedwig who had settled on the end of the bed. He sighed and got a damp cloth to clean her feathers.

Once they were both clean he pulled out the copies of the papers he got this morning as well as the copy of the evening prophet. As he read through them he realised he had made front page news on all of them, even the Quibbler which seemed to be mostly conspiracy theories. All of them were about him healing the Goblin King and earning the loyalty of the entire Goblin Nation.

Harry sighed and looked over the article in the Daily Prophet. There was a large picture of him in the entrance of Gringotts on the front page with the headline and the same picture on the next page with the whole story.

_**MYSTERIOUS BOY EARNS LOYALTY OF THE ENTIRE GOBLIN NATION**_

_**Unknown boy-turned-Lord saves the life of the Goblin King.**_

It went on about his amazing healing powers. Calling him the next coming of Merlin, since he was able to use magic inside the Goblin City where it was impossible for a wizard to use magic.

Harry folded the paper back up and stuffed in with the others in his bag. He took a deep, shuddering breath and rubbed at his eyes. If he had all that power then why was unable to save a little boy? Why couldn't he save him?

Why was he so weak?

His healing spells worked on the goblin. Why not on Terry? _Why_? _**Why didn't they work**_?!

He sat on top of the roof for a few hours before sighing. He needed to walk. He wondered the alleys for a while before dawn. He went back to his room and meditated for a while.

He read the morning issues of the papers that arrived and then headed out into the alleys again. He had a few more things to buy before shutting himself up in his room for the rest of the summer. He kept a mask in place as we wondered the alley, smiling and nodding at everyone who greeted him. At least now he understood the whispers yesterday.

He bought a few more books as well as a book bag for school, charmed so only he could take anything out of it as well as feather light and bottomless. The stationary in the wizarding world was atrocious though. As soon as he had what he needed from the wizarding world he slipped into muggle London, breathing a sigh of relief to be away from the stares.

He had been trying so hard to keep his power a secret and now it was out. Thank Martel they didn't know he was also Harry Potter.

Harry eventually found a good stationary shop and bought enough stationary to last him the year before he went back to The Leaky Cauldron.

He then proceeded to shut himself into his room and read. Hedwig occasionally looked up from her perch but otherwise was happy to sleep the day away. Harry soon got bored reading the chapters. He got out a pencil and some paper and started writing. It had been a long time since he had written anything as he had been pulled out of school so early. He got bored of this quickly as well so he pulled out a quill and attempted to figure out how to use one of those.

A few seconds had him putting it away and resolving to buy a book to teach him how to use the stupid thing.

Hedwig snapped her head up and clicked her beak, sending him her feelings and pictures with a few sparse words in between to convey what she was saying. It roughly translated to, '_ENOUGH! You are being ridiculous! Just move on already! Yes. You couldn't save him but you didn't know the boy. Just promise yourself to do better and be done with it! Stop moping about for someone you didn't know!'_

Harry stared at Hedwig before he sighed. She had a point. He was being stupid. He closed his eyes and mediated for a while. Getting hung up on this would not help him in the slightest. If he kept on thinking about it he would never be able to do anything. He meditated for a few hours just sorting out his head. So much had happened in the past few days, he needed to sort his head out.

A few hours later he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He felt much calmer now. He smiled and looked over at Hedwig. "You were right. Thank you, Hedwig."

The owl clicked her beak again and puffed herself up, looking very proud of herself while sending Harry a sense of '_of course I was right, I'm a woman and you are just a stupid boy._' Harry rolled his eyes. He felt much more settled now.

He stood up. "I'm going to buy a book on how to use a quill, want to come or are you going to stay here?"

Hedwig responded by tucking her head under her arm.

Harry rolled his eyes and went out into the alley. It didn't take him long to find the stationary store he had bought his supplies in and easily found a book on how to use a quill along with a book on how to write essays that he thought might be useful. He had dropped out of school years ago so he had no idea how he was supposed to put together an essay.

As he was walking he spotted the ice cream parlour. He blinked and debated for a moment before walking over. He had never had an ice cream before and he had the money for it so why not? He looked over the menu for a while before deciding to just get a vanilla. He could try out the other flavours some other time but for his first time, he wanted something tame.

He bought one easily and sat at a table outside, watching the crowd.

He spotted a girl about his age coming over with two people who could only be her parents and an elderly lady in green robes. Since the girl and her parents weren't wearing robes Harry had to assume that they were civilians and the girl was a New-Blood.

He was trying to avoid the term 'muggle' and 'muggle-born' since they sounded kind of racist to him. Besides, you've got Pure-Bloods and Half-Bloods, why not New-Bloods?

They walked into the store and Harry looked around the crowd again. A lot of people were trying to make it obvious they had a lot of money. These seemed to be the people who went into the more expensive shops and other people gave them a bit more room in the alley. It was generally a lot busier than the last few days as today was Saturday.

Harry smirked when he saw a boy, around eighteen, run past a tall, aristocratic blond man and pick-pocket him on the way past. He could swear that was the same man from the bank.

His attention was then drawn to the table next to him as the four people he had seen enter the parlour just now came back out, each with ice cream, and sat at the table next to his. Unfortunately, there weren't enough seats.

The girl put her sunday on the table and turned to him. "Sorry, can we borrow this?" she pointed to one of the empty chairs at Harry's table."

Harry smiled. "Of course, go ahead. I am not waiting on anyone."

She grinned. "Thank you. I'm Hermione by the way, Hermione Granger."

Harry smiled. "Lord Harry Irving, but please, call me Harry." The elderly woman glanced at his forehead and seemed to be looking for something. He wondered what. The only thing on his head had been that old scar but that healed years ago.

Hermione's eye widened. "Oh! I read about you in the paper yesterday! I heard all about how you healed the goblin king. You must be really powerful. What kind of spell did you use? Did it take you long to learn? Are you a Pure-Blood or a Muggleborn or maybe Half-Blood? I'm Muggleborn. This is all so exciting. Have you ever done any accidental magic? I have. I once made a whole load of books fly across a room and another time I changed the colour of a dress my Grandmother bought me that I didn't like the colour of. I never knew anything like that was possible though. I had no idea I was a witch until I got my Hogwarts letter. So, who are you here with? Are you here with anyone? Where are your parents? I'm here with my parents and Professor McGonagall. She's the transfiguration professor and the head of Gryffindor House. It's the best house in Hogwarts don't you know. The current headmaster of Hogwarts was in Gryffindor."

Harry held a hand up. "Do not forget to breathe, Miss Granger. We would not want you passing out." Hermione flushed and took a few breaths. Harry chuckled.

"Sorry. I'm just so excited! Oh, have you bought any of your school things yet? I've already bought most of my school supplies as well as a lot of other books. It all sounds so interesting! What's your favourite subject so far? I like charms and transfiguration best but you never really know until you really get there. They both seem really complicated. I can't wait to try them. This is all just so exiting! Did you know Muggleborns aren't allowed to do magic at home? The Pure-Bloods can since they ministry can't detect it in their homes. That's kind of unfair don't you think? They also grow up with magic so they've known about it longer and they know more than Muggleborns do before we've even started school. I'm determined to learn as much as I can."

Harry laughed. "By the Sylph, girl, _breathe_!" Hermione blushed and tried to catch her breath. Harry smirked. "Sweat Martel, you have some impressive lungs. Do you ever stop to breathe when you talk? It is rather impressive."

Hermione blushed and sank into the chair, picking up her ice cream dejectedly. "I'm sorry. You must think I'm a know-it-all."

Harry smiled and nodded. "That is quite alright. To answer your original questions; the spell I used is a secret, it took me a couple of weeks to learn. I am a Half-Blood and proud of it. Yes, I have done accidental magic before, I teleported onto a roof once. I am not here with anyone. My parents died when I was young. I have bought all of my school supplies. I have read all the school books and I think that the practical subjects would be more in my interest, I am especially looking forward to astronomy and potions. No, I didn't know New-Bloods aren't allowed to do magic at home, thank you for letting me know and yes, I think that is very unfair."

Hermione gave him a lopsided, slightly nervous grin. "Now I see what people mean when they say I go on a bit."

Harry nodded. "Conversations are hard. I usually do not have anyone to converse with, having no one who wishes to speak with me. This is one of the longest conversations I have had with anyone in a long time."

She tilted her head to one side. "Not even at school?"

Harry smiled at her. "My cousin made sure none of the other kids in school went near me. At least when we get to Hogwarts I will not have to worry about that, with him not being magical and thereby not being there to prevent me from making friends. I hope I can make friends but I have never had any before so I do not really know how to act."

Hermione looked surprised. "You're a first year?"

Harry nodded and laced his hands behind his head. "Yes. I suppose it is surprising. A lot of people think I am older than I am." Hermione looked at his arms and blushed. What was it with women and blushing around him? Seriously.

Hermione smiled. "This is my mum Emma and my dad Dan, there both dentists. This is Professor McGonagall. She's the transfiguration professor, the head of Gryffindor house and deputy headmistress of Hogwarts."

_Didn't she say Gryffindor was the best house? This lady is incredibly bias and this girl hasn't noticed at all. _Harry smiled charmingly at them. "It is lovely to meet you all." He stood and bowed slightly. He smiled at Mrs Granger. "I can certainly see where Hermione gets her good looks." he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

Harry liked talking and behaving like Regal with a slight hint of Zelos. He was barely ever allowed to talk at the Dursleys so he liked to be so well spoken that when he did talk, people listened. Dudley was rude and never spoke proper English. Harry wanted to be the exact opposite so he took after Regal in that regard. The hint of Zelos came from one of the teachers at school telling the class that compliments and smiles would get you further than frowns and insults. While Zelos' attitude was annoying at times, it was okay in small amounts.

Mr Granger laughed. "Careful son, that's my wife you're flirting with."

Mrs Granger playfully swatted him on the arm. "Dan." she turned and smiled at Harry. "It's nice to see such a gentleman, and so young. You said you're a first year this year?"

Harry nodded. "Yes ma'am."

Dan smiled. "Well maybe you and Hermione can be friends?" There was something in his voice. A subtle threat. Harry got the feeling he should be wary.

Harry smiled. "I am sure Hermione and I will get along well." Not a yes, not a no. He wasn't going to promise to be friends with someone he just met. He learned that lesson from Mithos. He glanced up at a flash of white and held his arm out. Hedwig landed on his arm and hopped to his shoulder. Harry smiled and ran his fingers through her feathers. "This is my Familiar, Hedwig." He mentally introduced everyone to her in her mind.

Hedwig hooted and held one wing out in an imitation of a wave.

Hermione cooed and reached a finger out to stroke her. "She's gorgeous!"

Hedwig puffed up happily. Harry rolled his eyes at her. "Careful, if you keep complimenting her like I'll never hear the end of it."

He spent a good half hour sitting outside the ice cream parlour chatting with the Grangers and Professor McGonagall. He explained the difference between a familiar and a pet to Hermione who immediately wanted to look through the pet shops to see if any were her familiar. Professor McGonagall explained a bit about the subjects and the houses. She was much fairer than Hagrid in her explanations but still leaned heavily towards her own house and subject.

Eventually they parted ways and Harry went to Gringotts, Hedwig flying off to sleep some more. He had just realised that he and Hookfang hadn't finished going over his accounts.

.oOo.

The Daily Prophet – A gossip magazine that over fantasized the truth but pretended to be a new paper  
The Daily Scroll – Cold hard facts and straight news  
The Fuzzy Owl – Light hearted, feel good stories people sent in or had happened in the news lately  
The Courtroom – News about the ministry, the wizengammot and the laws being brought up for consideration as well as those brought in  
The Quibbler – A paper full of conspiracy theories  
Wizard Weekly – A male equivalent of a woman's magazine  
Potions monthly – A monthly magazine showing new developments in potions  
The Astronomer – a monthly magazine with star charts, horoscopes, star-related divination, new discoveries and 'star of the month' competition.  
The Healer – A monthly magazine showing new developments in healing spells and techniques  
The Gardener – A monthly herbology magazine

There are others of course like quidditch weekly however, Harry doesn't have an interest in any of the other subjects or sports or papers yet so he doesn't have a subscription to them. If he gets into them later he will owl order for a subscription.


	5. Chapter 5

**Arawn D. Draven**: '_Isn't he going to have trouble controlling his magic with a wand, since he is used to using it without a focus?'_

This will come up in chapter 6 briefly and a more full explanation in chapter 7 or 8, depending on how long the court scene takes as well as featuring heavily in later chapters.

**Ddragon21**: yes Luna will be in Hogwarts for Harry's first year but I'm not paring Harry off with anyone until he's _at least_ fourteen.

As he walked into the bank the guards bowed to him, much to the confusion of the few who hadn't seen the news articles. He made his way to Hookfang's office and knocked. After a moment he was called in and opened the door. "Good afternoon Hookfang. I hope I'm not interrupting?"

Hookfang shook his head. "No, no. Not at all. I was just abbreviating your medical scan results to send to St Mungo's. What can I do for you?"

Harry sat in the chair opposite the desk. "We hadn't finished going over my accounts. I can wait until you're finished though."

Hookfang shook his head. "That's alright." He rummaged around behind the desk for a moment before pulling Harry's account books out. He walked over to the other side of the room and tapped the wall. Another desk popped out of nowhere. "You can sit here and study these books while I finish up. I can go over them better with you if you have already read them through."

Harry nodded and pulled his chair over. He sat down and read through the books for a while until Hookfang had finished abbreviating his medical scan results. He was surprised by how much he had. It was a lot more than he was expecting, even having briefly gone over it with Hookfang once before.

Eventually Hookfang finished with the scan and put it into the box on the corner of his desk. He tapped it and the box glowed for a moment. He then checked inside and put the box under his desk. "Now then, Lord Irving."

Harry smiled and came over. The two of them spent the rest of the day going over Harry's accounts and what he had. They took a trip down to the vaults so Harry could see the items too. He spent a good few minutes staring at a picture of his parents with him as a baby before he was able to tear his eyes away. He had to take a few deep breaths to compose himself before he was able to carry on.

When they had finished they went back up to Hookfang's office. "Now, Lord Irving, on Tuesday you will get your new swords from the King. We need to go over a few things so you can avoid insulting him unintentionally. You were let off before because you had just saved his life and you did mention you'd only just found out goblins exist so your ignorance was excusable. It won't be this time."

Harry nodded and the two of them spent a few hours going over some traditions and manners. Hookfang gave Harry a few books on Pure-Blood etiquette and traditions he would be required to know, being the heir to a Pure-Blood family.

It was very boring.

Just as Harry was about to leave Hookfang stopped him. "Lord Irving, Madam Bones has contacted me. She wishes you to go to the ministry tomorrow to give a statement on your scans. Just formality really, she has enough evidence to put them away forever, if not the death penalty." He rummaged in his desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment. "She will be meeting you in the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow morning at about eight. This is a few of the questions she will be asking you."

Harry nodded and took the parchment. "Thanks for the heads up."

Hookfang nodded and then looked at two scrolls sitting on his desk. "There is something else..."

Harry tilted his head and waited patiently.

Hookfang shook his head and took a deep breath. "These are your parent's wills." He pointed to the scrolls.

Harry stiffened and stared wide eyed at the scrolls on the desk. For the past ten years his so called family had been telling him his parents were drunks who died in a car crash and the only reason they got married was because his mum got knocked up so they had to. He knew this wasn't true for years but he didn't know the truth until recently. Even now, while he has no emotional attachment to them both... they were still his parents.

They birthed him. They gave him life and from what he could tell they both loved him dearly.

He took a shuddering breath and shook his head. "Can I see?" His voice came out smaller than he wanted it to. Hookfang nodded and he slowly opened the first will. It was his father's.

_**I, James Charlus Potter, being of sound body and mind do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament. All previous wills are hereby dealt null and void.**_

_**To my best friend Sirius Orion Black. You were my brother in all but blood. I leave you the portrait of you, me, Remus, Lily and baby Harry that you have always admired. I leave the orders to find a nice girl, learn how to be monogamous, get married and give my son some cousins to play with and protect. And spoil Harry for me, Merlin knows Lily won't.**_

_**To my best friend Remus John Lupin. I leave you one thousand galleons and that cottage in Florida and the cottage in Ireland. I leave you the photo album of all of us in our animagus forms and instructions to keep Sirius in line. You were always the smart and responsible one. I know you won't let me down, Remy. Find your mate, settle down and have some cubs.**_

_**To Severus Snape, I leave you with my apologies for everything I have ever done to you. I know you might never forgive me but it needs to be said. I leave you the black, leather-bound diary I have left in my vault for you, it has a full explanation inside. I also leave you with my collection of vinyls and my record player. Lily told me you like music.**_

_**To my dear friend Frank Longbottom, I leave the journals my father wrote while raising me. I think you will find them useful, I know I have. I also leave you that sword and dagger of mine that you always drooled over.**_

_**To Alice I leave you my love, those flower ornaments you kept admiring, the creeping vine candle holders, the wolf bookends and my collection of books on earth magic. Not that you haven't already memorised them word for word. I wish we had gotten to know each other better in all the years we spent together.**_

_**To Amelia Bones, I leave several journals and documents I have left with Hookfang. I know you will do what you need too with them. You won't let me down.**_

_**To my dear friend and our secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew, I leave you that book you were always reading when you came over, your favourite chair and that plushy cat toy you bought for Harry which he never played with but you always seemed to end up holding, on the stipulation that you did not sell us out to our enemies. If you did sell us out then I hope you rot in hell.**_

_**In the event of my death only, I leave everything else to my lovely wife Lily, however, in the event of Lily's death along with mine I leave everything not mentioned above to our son, Harry James Potter. I love you so much Harry. Never doubt that. The happiest day of my life was the day you were born (minus the death threats from your mother a few minutes before). Stay strong. Be Brave. Never let go of your friends and always stand up for what you believe in. I know you will grow to be a great man, Harry. No matter what you do with yourself.**_

_**I also leave instructions that, should Lily and I both be dead, Harry be immediately emancipated on his eleventh birthday. I ask that you read my journals, the ones in the box marked as such. There is a lot of information in them that I want you to know. Hookfang will make sure you get them.**_

_**I leave custody of Harry to either his godfather, Sirius Black, or whomever Lily decides as she is a better judge of character than me and I have been told I suck at being responsible.**_

_**Thus ends my last will and testament, So I Say So Mote It Be.**_

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was several minutes before he was able to gather the strength to open his mother's will.

_**I, Lily Rose Potter nee Evans, Being of sound body and mind do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament. All previous wills are hereby dealt null and void.**_

_**I leave to Severus Snape, a black trunk with silver detail and fastenings on marked with 'S.S' along with its contents. I am sorry, Sev. You were my brother. I should never have left you like that. There is a diary in the trunk that explains everything. I hope one day you can forgive me.**_

_**To my best friend Alice Longbottom nee Smith, I leave instructions to be a good godmother to Harry. I also leave to you that winter cloak of mine you always admired, the trunk with the gold clasp and 'A.L' on the front along with the contents of it, the poetry book you always read when you came by, the picture of the two of us at that winter ball and my mother's and my journals of motherhood. Add your own to the collection and Hand them down to your own daughter/daughter-in-law some day. They have been a real help.**_

_**To Frank Longbottom, I leave you this edict, I know you will be a good father frank, have faith in yourself. I also leave you the Gryffindor Family Battle Armour. I know you love being an Auror and I want you to be safe and I know James will forget about the armour in his will.**_

_**To my godson Neville I leave you the green and brown trunk with the vine carvings on it as well as the contents of that. Enjoy, I know you will be just like your mother. I am sorry I couldn't be a better godmother to you but I know you will grow into a fine young man. And remember, Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.**_

_**To Sirius Black I leave you the black trunk with 'S.B' inscribed on the lid and all of its contents, my erotic book collection, that fantasy dragon novel you like so much but don't want James to know you read it and my eternal love. You have been the best brother-in-law a girl can ever hope for.**_

_**To Remus Lupin I leave the brown trunk marked 'R.L' and the contents within as well as my recipes for the improved wolfsbane potion, my research notes for the cure, my cookbooks, the painting of your wolf I had done and those three books you loved so much. I know you will keep Sirius in line for me. Try to help James and Sirius raise Harry. He needs a responsible figure in his life and Merlin knows James and Sirius can't do it.**_

_**To Amelia Bones I leave a wooden box I have left with Hookfang. You will find everything you need in there.**_

_**In the event of my death only, I leave everything else to my husband James, however in the event of his Death I leave everything not mentioned above to my son Harry.**_

_**I also leave to Harry the large red trunk with white details and 'H.P' inscribed on it along with its contents. It has been blood bonded to you so you will need to prick your finger in the latch to open it. I love you so much Baby. You are the most important person in my life. I love you so much. You be good, Harry. Always do your best and never give up. I know you will get anywhere you want in life, if you try hard enough. And remember, if you believe something is impossible, it will **_**be**_** impossible, but if you believe there is a way, the world will offer up its powers to you. You can do anything if your will is strong enough.**_

_**Should both me and my husband be killed I leave the care of my son, until he turns eleven and is emancipated, to the following people in the following order;**_

_**Alice and Frank Longbottom**_

_**Steve Mansnoozy**_

_**Severus Snape**_

_**Sirius Black**_

_**Remus Lupin**_

_**Augusta Longbottom**_

_**Amelia Bones**_

_**Poppy Pomfrey**_

_**Pomona Sprout**_

_**Filius Flitwick**_

_**Megan Magarey**_

_**Under no circumstances is he to go to my sister and her husband.**_

_**Thus Ends My Last Will And Testament. So I Say So Mote It Be.**_

Harry sat in shock for a few minutes before he took a deep breath. "Can you contact the other people mentioned?"

Hookfang nodded and took the wills off of him. He read them through and frowned. "That's strange..."

Harry blinked slowly, still trying to process what he had read. "What?"

"Both your parents mentioned leaving me things but I have no memory of it... I will look into this. For now, I'll get those items you parents mentioned for you."

Harry nodded slowly and sat in the chair in silence for a few minutes, trying to sort out his head. Hookfang came back into the room and placed a trunk and a box in front of him. Harry looked them over and took a shuddering breath. He would look through them later. He thanked Hookfang and put the trunk and box in his bag. Hookfang then placed a few documents on the table and Harry read them and signed. One was his emancipation document, one was to claim his Lordship and the last was to keep Hookfang as his account manager. Harry smiled weakly at the goblin before standing and leaving to let the poor man get some sleep.

He went back to the Leaky Cauldron. He fed Hedwig and settled down on the bed. He spent a while reading the journals. He found that while two of his dad's appeared to have been written as he was growing up, the rest were as an adult, a complete summery of his life. His mother's was different. Half of them were as she was growing up since she kept very good records while the other half was as an adult. There were also a number of folders with bits and pieces of information that may or may not be useful.

Harry read the diaries of his parents growing up at the same time, covering each year at a time.

He finished reading about their sorting and put the books on the bedside table. He sat back against the headboard and sighed heavily. He looked at the time and realised it was about dawn. He looked at Hedwig as she flew in through the window. She settled next to him and nudged his hand. He stroked her head and felt her think to him. "_Are you alright?_"

He sighed and nodded. "It's a lot to take in, you know?" he glanced back at the books. "So... my mum lived a few streets down from a boy named Severus Snape, his mum was a Pure-Blood but his dad was a civilian. My mum's parents, the Evans', tried to adopt Severus numerous times because his dad was an alcoholic wife beater and child abuser who hated magic with a passion. They never could because the ministry of magic won't let a civilian adopt a magical child, even if they have a magical child themselves."

Hedwig nodded her head to show her understanding and gestured him to continue.

"Severus was the one who told my mum she was a witch. They were best friends and practically siblings growing up. My mum even had a half brother, Steve Mansnoozy, when one of my granddad's friends found out he was infertile from a sickness as a kid but he and his wife really wanted kids so he agreed to be a sperm donor."

Hedwig looked interested and motioned him to carry on.

"The three of them got on great but my Uncle was a civilian so he ended up drifting away from them a bit. The day before their first year at Hogwarts, Severus' dad beat his mum to death and nearly did the same to Severus but he managed to get away before he could get hurt. He went to my mum and stayed there for the night before going with them to the station."

Hedwig nuzzled Harry's hand and hooted softly.

Harry sighed. "My dad's dad had been hit with a nasty hex when he was in school so his sperm count was low. My grandmother was from a 'dark' pureblood family so her fertility was low anyway. They had my dad really late in life and spoiled him rotten since they didn't think they could actually have kids and they knew they wouldn't be able to have one after him. He met his best friend Sirius at one of those parties the purebloods like to throw so much. They became best friends. They spent so much time hating the other purebloods that they started thinking that no one was as good as them."

Hedwig hooted and snapped her beak.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but I can kind of see where they were coming from. It was how Sirius survived his family. They were really into 'dark magic and evilness' to use his words. They were always pressuring him into following them even though he didn't want to. He had to convince himself that he was better than them or he would start to think that there was something wrong with him, not them. As for my dad, he was raised as if he could do no wrong, that he was Merlin incarnate."

Hedwig huffed and shook her head.

Harry nodded. "Anyway, when my mum and Severus got onto the train they shut themselves in a compartment and Severus had an emotional breakdown, crying and grieving for his mom. My dad and Sirius had seen them on the platform and my dad had thought mum was really pretty. She was, going by the pictures in mum's diaries. They eventually found her and Severus and started bullying him about crying. Calling him a big baby, not even off the station yet and already crying for mommy. Course that made him angry and sad at the same time. Mum defended him and dad was a bully, telling her that she would be better off with friends like him instead of, and I quote, 'Snivilus over there.'"

Hedwig huffed and shook her head again.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, mom and Severus were really sad they were in different houses. Mum wrote in one of the diaries she wrote as an adult that she often wished she and Severus had been in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Dad was glad that mum was in Gryffindor with him and spent the whole feast talking to her and trying to convince her to be his friend or girlfriend."

Hedwig hopped up onto Harry's lap and he stroked her chest. "I wish they didn't die but there's nothing I can do about it..." he tipped his head back. "This is way too complicated... so much has happened in such a short space of time..."

Hedwig nuzzled his chin. "_Don't worry, little one. We'll get through this._"

Harry sighed. "I know. Why don't you get some sleep? You must be tired, me keeping you awake at all hours."

Hedwig hooted and nipped at his fingers, flying off to sleep on her perch.

Harry looked at the clock and noticed he still had a few hours before his meeting with Madam Bones so he sat back and meditated for a while.

Shortly before eight he went downstairs and asked Tom if anyone had been looking for him. The bartender replied in the negative so Harry sat in a booth. A short while later a lady with a monocle poked her head around the corner of the booth. Honest to Martel, she was wearing a _monocle_. "Harry Irving?"

Harry nodded and indicated for her to sit down. "Yes. Welcome. I take it you are Madam Bones?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm here about the files your account manager sent to me. I've looked them over and I want to press charges against Dumbledore for what he did. Even placing you there was against the law. A bill Dumbledore himself put through. We cannot put a magical child into the care of a muggle. That he did so is a serious offence on its own, without the rest of the charges."

Harry nodded. "That would be great, but I know nothing about the court system. I wouldn't know where to begin."

Madam Bones smiled at him. She talked him through the process and what he should be expecting. She then took him to the ministry to fill out a statement and file a formal charge against the Dursleys and Dumbledore. Due to the number of cases going at the moment they wouldn't be able to do it until Wednesday.

Harry went back to the Leaky Cauldron, having nothing left to do at the ministry and settled back in his room.

Harry tipped his head back into the wall and meditated for a while, until he felt calm enough to carry on. He practiced with the quill for a while but found the thing incredibly hard to use and ended up just using the fountain pen he had bought the other day. He settled down to mediate until about noon.

He spent the afternoon reading more of his parent's journals. The years leading up to their first years at Hogwarts went by a lot quicker than their first year since very little of interest happened. His mom went into much more detail than his dad did so hers always took longer to read anyway.

He couldn't believe how much of an ass his dad was. Whenever Hagrid mentioned him he talked about the man like he was some kind of hero. Like he was Lloyd or something.

He shook his head and watched Hedwig stretch her wings and ruffle her feathers. She sent him a quick image of a mouse and flew out the window, obviously going to get breakfast.

Harry put the books away and meditated for a while, keeping half an eye on Hedwig. He thought about everything he had read. Reading about his parents like this was strange. It was made easier if he didn't think of them as his parents. He didn't feel for them like he thought one would for a parent. He had no memories of them, why would he look to them as parents?

He felt a mental prod from Hedwig and looked to where she was sitting on the roof of the building opposite his window.

"_Hedwig?_"

"_Fly with me_?"

Harry smiled and slipped out the window. He flew up to where the snowy owl was circling the building. They flew into the clouds and soared together for a while, simply enjoying the wind in their feathers and being together. They had to fly back down long before sunrise so Harry could sneak back into his window without being noticed.

Hedwig settled down on her perch and tucked her head under her wing, getting a few hours of sleep before Harry undoubtedly woke her for some reason.

Harry chuckled quietly and pulled out the etiquette books. He needed to memorise these. Most of them he already knew, some of it was just polite behaviour, but other things he didn't know.

Harry finished the books and sighed. It was now late Monday evening and he was bored. He didn't really want to keep reading, he had spent all of yesterday and today inside and he wanted to get out and do something. He couldn't just go out and practice his magic, he didn't want anyone to know about magic like that. The spells he knew were destructive and dangerous. If they fell into the wrong hands...

Harry stood up and decided to explore the alleys again. The night life was interesting. As he walked around he looked at all the different types of people around. The mana was so different between some but so similar in others. That is definitely a vampire. Could he _be_ anymore stereotypical? And his mana was so different to a human's. Looking at another, he seemed to be a werewolf judging by his looks. His mana was very similar to a human's and seemed to be the complete opposite to a vampire.

That is a banshee. Those are hags. Is that a half-vampire? How interesting.

Harry glanced to the alley at his side when he felt a presence there make a move towards him. It stopped when he looked and backed away. Harry tilted his head, he could smell blood. "Are you alright?"

The man, for it was a man, let out a deep chuckle. "What do you care?"

Harry smiled gently at the darkness. "I'm a healer. Healing is in my nature. _Are_ you alright?" The figure stepped forwards out of the darkest of the shadows. Harry was only able to see him because of his enhanced eyesight. "That looks bad." He pointed to the gash on his arm.

The man looked down. "Yeah. Got into a fight with some Aurors. They took offence to me being in the same pub as them. Slashed my arm."

Harry stepped over and gently took the man's arm, looking at the wound. It was pretty deep but nothing he hadn't healed before. He pulled out his staff. "Hold still." A quick spell had the wound sealed shut. Harry glared at his staff. "So _now_ you decide to work." He muttered. He turned back to the man. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you? You're not human."

The man let out a deep laugh. "I'm a vampire." He said it like it was some kind of threat.

It had no effect on Harry. "Really? I thought so, based on your magic, though I couldn't be certain. You're the first I've met."

The man blinked at Harry in shock for a few moments. "You're not scared?" Harry shook his head. "Not even a bit?" Harry shook his head again. The man approached him slowly, backing him up against the wall of the alley. "I could kill you right now, drain you completely of blood. Aren't you the slightest bit scared?"

Harry shook his head. "No." the man recoiled in shock, leaning back against the wall behind him, the two of them now leaning against opposite walls of the alley. "I know what you're capable off. I've read about vampires but I know that the most accurate information comes from the source itself. I don't believe that all vampires are evil, blood sucking demons." He looked at the cut in the man's shirt. "You've lost a lot of blood. Will you need to feed soon?"

The man nodded slowly. "Yeah." he stared at Harry. "You're not going to make an excuse and leave are you?"

Harry shook his head and leant more casually against the wall behind him. "Forgive a researcher's curiosity. What is feeding like, for both you and the... shall we say donor?"

The vampire laughed. "I like you kid. The name's Oliver, by the way. So, you interested in vampires? Alright." The two of them spoke for a while, Oliver told Harry about vampires. Things that aren't found in books. He was a good man, just... dead. After Harry was satisfied he wouldn't become a vampire just by Oliver feeding from him he held his arm out and let the man feed from him.

When Oliver closed the gap he drew back suddenly, nearly hitting his head on the wall behind him. "Sorry, kid. You've got too much Light Magic in your blood. I can't feed off ya without burning."

Harry tilted his head and thought for a moment. He couldn't think of anything that would have stored up enough light mana inside him to stop a vampire from feeding off of him... except... his eyes widened. His wings. When he got his wings it must have set his elemental affinity to Light. He shook his head. "Sorry. I know what that is." He shrugged. "At least now I know I never have to worry about any vampires trying to kill me."

Oliver laughed. "You're a unique kid, you know that?"

Harry grinned back.

Oliver stretched. "As much as I like hanging out with you, I really do need to feed. I'll see ya around, kid."

Harry nodded. "I am sure you will." Oliver disappeared into the shadows and Harry walked out of the alley and continued walking around. He browsed a few stores but didn't buy anything. He spoke to a few people about different things and in one night learned more from the people society has shunned as 'Dark Creatures' than he had learned from all the books he had bought. When the sun peaked up over the horizon, even though it couldn't be seen over the buildings, most of the inhabitants of the alley disappeared.

Harry went back to his room and quickly went back over the etiquette books before standing up. "Alright Hedwig. This is it. We're going to meet the Goblin King, get our swords and create an alliance with the Goblin Nation." He glanced at Hedwig who flew onto his shoulder. "Ready?" she nodded. "Then let's do this."

He went downstairs and went out into the alley. He walked with purpose down to alley to Gringotts. He nodded to the guards on the way past and went straight down to Hookfang's office.

He took a deep breath and entered. Hookfang was sitting at his desk. He looked up when Harry entered. "Ah, Lord Irving. You're here. Good. Now, did you go over the books I gave you?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I think I've got it."

Hookfang nodded. "Alright. A quick pop quiz then." They spent a few moments going over the correct procedures and what Harry should and shouldn't say before Hookfang nodded. "Alright. You're ready. I will let the guards know."

He sent a quick message across some strange device on his desk. Harry sat impatiently in the chair opposite the desk, Hedwig settled on the back of it.

He stood and took a deep breath when the door opened.

The moment of truth.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry sat in his room at the Leaky Cauldron and grinned at the two swords sitting on the bed in front of him. He gave a heavy sigh and leant back. It was official. He was bored. At the Dursleys he worked his arse off doing chores all day and at night he was in his clearing practicing magic, sword fighting and martial arts. Now, he couldn't practice magic (there were too many people around, he would get caught and he didn't want anyone knowing about his kind of magic) he couldn't practice swords or martial arts (there was nowhere near here he could practice either) and he had no chores to do.

He sat up. He supposed he could look around his properties and find somewhere to live. It was better than staying at the Leaky Cauldron all summer. He stood up and stretched before putting his swords into his bag. It was still early in the day so he would have to travel by more conventional methods than flying.

He looked over and the white fluff ball sitting on her perch. "Hey Hedwig, want to come with me to visit my properties? We might find one worth living in."

Hedwig regarded him for a moment before nodding and flying over to his shoulder. Harry went downstairs and, after paying for his room and thanking Tom, used the floo to get to the first property on the list. Hedwig was displeased. After several hours of visiting his properties he and Hedwig agreed on the sixth one and went back there. Most of them they were able to write off straight away. He had no intention of living in a huge manor or somewhere _too_ far out of the way.

This one was perfect, it was mostly in good condition but still required enough work to keep Harry busy. He had been moving around his whole life, going from one thing to the next with very little time to sit and do nothing and since he didn't sleep anymore he had a full twenty four hours in a day instead of only day time like most other people.

Luckily as well as needing repairs the house also had an Owlery (Hedwig refused to live in a house without one) so Hedwig went off to look that over and see if it was good enough for her standards.

Harry had taken an aerial view of the building when they came earlier. There was a village not too far away, which meant he was close enough to people to still be included in the village but far enough away that they wouldn't see his magic and he could have some silence from the hustle and bustle of daytime activities.

He took a walk through the forest to the village, taking note of the large blue eyes watching him from the trees. Harry tentatively reached out with his magic and brushed against it. It was curious but not aggressive. Defensive maybe? Perhaps it was protecting something?

He walked into the village keeping half a mental eye on the creature, he didn't know what it was.

As he got closer to the village he relaxed. He looked around, there was a sign claiming the village as 'Burden's Rest.' It was a quaint little village. There were some farms around the edges with very friendly people apparently (one of the men in the fields raised a pitchfork in greeting and Harry waved back). The houses were mostly cottages but it was obvious they were not behind the times (the T.V aerials and satellite dishes were a big giveaway) and there was a small collection of shops of various types in the village centre as well as a well.

Harry spotted a pub, 'The Plundered Dungeon' and walked in. The barkeep raised an eyebrow at him when he sat at the bar. "A bit young to drink aren't you?"

Harry grinned. "Only alcoholic drinks. I'm not too young for water or lemonade now am I?" he glanced at the chalk board behind the counter with the menu and prices nodding appreciatively at the beautiful dual swords hung in the middle of the wall.

The man laughed and grinned at Harry. "I like you, kid. Not seen you around here before. Where you from?"

Harry smiled. "I own the house on the hill, past the forest." He jerked back the way he had come with a thumb over his shoulder. "I moved in just a minute ago. So, what's this place like?"

The man smiled a bit nervously and accepted the coins Harry slid across the counter, sliding a glass of lemonade towards him with his change. "Well, the folks are nice. Especially out mayor. Great guy. Won all our favour through his own deeds. He's out in the fields now, actually. Believes in hard work, he does. We've got everything we need to get by, here. Don't want for much. Teach the kids to be good and behave, don't stop them chasing chickens every now and then though."

Harry laughed. "Well, children will be children I suppose. Nothing can change that."

The barkeep narrowed his eyes slightly, though he was still smiling. "And what made you into such a fine, upstanding gentleman then, kid?"

Harry looked over the man's shoulder. "A lot of things no one should go through."

The man blinked and jerked back slightly. "What?"

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter. So, what else can you tell me?"

The man looked Harry over for a minute, frowning slightly. "Well," he shook himself and carried on cleaning the glass in his hands, though it must be clean by now. "The people around here are a mixed bunch. We've got a scholar in the town library, though nobody really goes in there. We've got a former military captain as the head of the town guard, a bit of a slave driver but a nice enough bloke. The bard who lives here is a strange woman, full of riddles and never speaks straight. Never without that harp of hers either."

Harry nodded. "Sounds like you've got quite the collection."

The man nodded. "Aye. Our mayor seems to attract strange ones, he does."

Harry sensed the creature coming closer to the village and someone heading from the fields towards the forest. Was it going to attack? Harry finished his lemonade and smiled at the barkeep. "Well, this seems like my kind of town then. Might as well have a look around."

The man nodded. "Alright then, name's Roland by the way."

"Harry Irving." He waved over his shoulder and as quickly as he could without seeming insulting left the building and headed towards the forest. Once he got close he broke into a light jog and then a run as the human got closer to the creature. The man walked into a clearing and Harry leapt over a bush towards him, pulling his swords out as his did so, planting himself between the man and the creature that had lunged out of the bushes at the same time Harry had.

The creature stopped just in front of Harry and jerked backwards to avoid getting a face full of sword. Harry could now see it was a dragon and it looked _pissed_. It lunged again but then jerked back as Harry swung another sword at it, followed by a hastily cast fireball. Not that it would do much damage anyway.

The man rested a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Solus. Stop."

The dragon backed up a step and looked over Harry's shoulder at the man. Harry lowered his swords and looked up at him. "He's yours?" the man nodded. Harry blushed slightly and put his swords away. "Sorry."

The man laughed. "Nah, its fine. An easy thing to jump to. You're pretty brave for a kid. How old are you?"

"Eleven."

"Really? You look older. Anyway, the name's Devin. I'm the mayor here. This is my dragon, Solus."

Harry smiled and relaxed. "Harry Irving. It is an honour to meet you, sir. I have heard very highly of you."

The man blushed slightly. "Well, I'm just a man. I'm not any better than anyone else in the village, just because I'm the mayor."

Harry smiled. "If only all leaders thought like that, the world would be a better place."

Devin nodded. "Yeah." He then brushed the slightly tense atmosphere away and smiled at Harry. "That was pretty brave of you, jumping in front of a dragon for me."

Harry blushed and shrugged. "Well, I'm a healer by nature. Saving people is what I do."

Devin paused for a moment before he laughed. A proper, deep, full body laugh. He finally managed to get himself under control. "I _love_ you kid. Come on, let me get you a drink. My treat." He slung an arm over Harry's shoulders and they headed back to the village, Solus following.

Harry smiled and waved at Roland as they walked in. The barkeep raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Not collected another one, have you Devin?"

Devin laughed again. "No, no. Don't worry. Just met the kid in the forest just now."

Roland raised an eyebrow and looked amusedly at Harry. "Oh, I thought you were going to have a look around the village?"

Harry grinned lopsidedly, slightly nervous. "I sensed Devin heading into the woods and Solus somewhere in the woods heading for Devin and I thought he might be in trouble."

Roland raised an eyebrow. "What do ya mean by that, kid?"

Harry looked around. "You know about... magic right?"

The two men snorted. Devin shook his head. "Magic? Kid, I have a pet dragon. Of course I know about magic." Solus growled disapprovingly at the word 'pet'.

Roland shook his head and pulled a large bowl out from behind the bar along with a mug and a glass. He poured a lemonade into the glass and a beer into the mug, sliding all three over. "This place is more magical than you think, but we teach our kids to be good and not use magic to be lazy. All the magical ones get letters to that Hogwarts place but we prefer to home school 'em."

Devin held the bowl under a barrel of something and used the tap to fill it up. He put the bowl on the floor next to Harry and Solus stuck his nose into it. "What's magic got to do with anything?"

Harry sighed. "I can sense the magical energies of everything around me. The more time I spend with someone the easier it gets to tell their magic from everyone else's. I didn't know _who_ you were and I didn't know _what_ he was, since I've never met a dragon before. I just knew _where_ you were." He shrugged.

Devin sipped his beer and hummed. "Magical energies? So, not only are you a dual swordsman, but you can sense magical energies too?"

Roland raised his eyebrows. "You're a dual swordsman?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I got my swords earlier today actually." He pulled them out and set them on the counter.

Roland whistled long and low. "They are beautiful." He looked them over closely. "Goblin craftsmanship? Excellent quality too." He turned around and pulled the pair of swords down from behind the bar. "These are mine. I used them a lot back in the day. I was an adventurer. Even a mercenary for a time. These are my prized blades. Perhaps we could have a spar one day?"

Harry grinned. "I'd like that. I've never had someone to spar with before."

Devin nodded. "So, what are these magical energies you can sense then? I know for sure that I can't use magic."

Harry tilted his head and explained about the energies he could feel. They debated back and forth for a moment since Roland and Devin were both completely void of any magic but Harry could sense it in them.

Devin shrugged. "You'd best talk to Lucian then. He's a scholar. If there's anything to know in the world, he knows it."

Roland grinned and polished a mug. "And if he doesn't know, he wants to learn."

Harry grinned. "I know a girl he would get on great with." Hermione, was it? This sounded like her kind of man... if she wasn't eleven.

Devin nodded. "He could do with some friends who aren't bored to tears whenever he opens his mouth."

Roland grinned. "What about Faustus?" Solus tilted his head and left the room.

Devin snorted. "He's only interested if it has something to do with magic." Devin paused for a moment. "We should probably get Faustus too. Tell you what kid, I'll go get Faustus and Roland here will take you to meet Lucian."

Roland nodded. "I guess I can take a minute away."

A woman stepped up out of nowhere, harp music floating along with her speech. "I will take him." Devin and Roland jumped out of their skin. "I admit to being curious." Her music took on a slightly curious tone as she looked Harry over.

Devin clasped a hand to his chest. "Damn it Medea. What have I told you about sneaking up on people like that?"

Harry giggled since he had sensed her coming and heard her harp. Medea's harp strung a joyful, amused tone, though Medea only smirked slightly. Harry looked her over. She was clearly not human. Not even half. He tiled his head and she looked him over speculatively. Her harp song turned into a calculating, curious tone.

Harry looked her up and down one more time before flatly stating, "You're not human."

Her harp showed her surprise, even though her face didn't. It then turned curious as she scrutinised him before striking a tone of awe and wonder. "You can see the energies of the world." Harry nodded and the sense of awe increased and the pace sped up. "Come. I will take you to Lucian. Devin, fetch Faustus."

Devin nodded and looked down. "Hey, where'd Solus go?"

Harry closed his eyes, seeking out the dragon's magic. It was easy to find since it was so distinctive. "He's with someone..."

Devin nodded. "That's probably Faustus. Solus must have gone to get him."

Medea nodded and stood. "Come." She turned and Harry stood up. He glanced at Devin and Roland who shrugged. Devin stood to follow them out and Roland waved them off, choosing to stay at the pub. They soon came to a building that could only be a library.

They walked in and Harry spotted a man bent over a desk in the middle of the room. He was desperately scribbling at something on a piece of paper before dashing away, returning a few moments later to scribble something else before dashing somewhere else.

The three of them watched him for a few moments before Solus came in the room with an elderly man who could not be more of a stereotypical wizard if you looked harder. They both came over and the old man grinned at Harry. "Hello. My name is Faustus. I'm the Elder Wizard here in the village. Solus tells me I should meet you."

Harry grinned. "It is nice to meet you, Faustus. I am Harry Irving."

"Harry Irving?" A voice behind called out. The man came rushing over, his arms now full of scrolls for some reason only he knew. "Lucian." He introduced himself, sticking his hand out and dropping several scrolls. He huffed and Harry quickly snatched them off the ground before Lucian tried to pick them up and risk dropping something else.

He smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Lucian. I'm Harry." He took Lucian's outstretched hand in a firm shake.

Lucian nodded. "The guy who saved the Goblin King?"

Harry blinked and raised his eyebrows but nodded. "Yes. The one and the same."

Lucian grinned. "Wow. I've heard you're a super powerful mage! The most powerful wizard on earth!"

Harry blushed. "I haven't even gone to school yet. I'm not that powerful."

Medea's harp strummed for a moment and Lucian, Devin and Faustus looked at her. They seemed to speak 'harp' since Lucian calmed down and took the scrolls off of Harry. He led them all over to an empty table before rushing off to put the scrolls away before coming back.

"So, what's going on then?" he looked between Harry and Devin.

Devin smirked and explained to Lucian and Faustus how he had met Harry and their conversation with Roland after.

Lucian then asked Harry about the energies he felt. Harry tilted his head. "Well, every living thing has one, plants included. Each person's... let's say signature, is different, like a fingerprint. There are similarities between families. The most similar would be twins, I think, but I've never met any so I can't say for sure. Each race feels different. Some races are closer to some than others. Like vampires are the opposite of were-wolves. Both are compatible with humans, though were-wolves are closer to humans than vampires."

He looked at Medea. "Once I've met one person of a race I can identify that race. I'm not sure what you are but it's different than anyone I've ever met."

Medea smirked slightly. "I am an elf."

Harry's eyes widened and he felt his heart shudder in his chest. "Really? An elf?" he looked down at the table for a moment. An actual elf. "Cool..." he didn't quite know how to deal with that. He shook his head and focused on the mana in the world around him. He frowned when he noticed that Faustus, while definitely being human, had a different kind of magical signature to Devin and Lucian. When he told the others this there was a moment of pensive silence.

Faustus lifted his staff and channelled his magic into it. "What do you sense now?"Harry watched. The second energy reacted to his call and surged up his staff but the first one didn't respond. Harry told them his observations and they all sat in silence, thinking for a moment.

Lucian hopped up. "Wait here." he dashed off.

Harry extended his mind to Solus. "_What do you think?_"

The dragon looked at him and glared. "I think that you should stay out of my head."

Harry stared, wide eyed, at the azure dragon for a moment before turning to Devin. "Your dragon can talk."

Devin laughed heartily for a moment. "Yes, he can. He can be quite the smart mouth when he wants to be, too."

Solus snorted. "I think a more interesting point of matter is that the boy is a telepath."

Faustus looked impressed. "A telepath?"

Solus nodded. "I felt his magic reach out to me a second before I heard his voice in my head."

"Not magic." Lucian shouted as he rushed over. His arms full of more scrolls. "Every country in the world has some kind of legend of magic." His voice dropped back to a casual tone as he settled back down at the table, unfurling the scrolls. "Some call it by other names and some claim it to work in different ways, still others claim you can do things with it that other's think impossible."

Harry nodded. "Legends can sometimes grow out of proportion. Plus different cultures would grow up in different ways so those who come from long lines of magical people would adapt to using magic in a different way to other people."

Lucian nodded. "Yes, but what if it's not all the same energy?" The others looked at him in confusion. "Harry, you said you can sense a different kind of energy from Faustus that Devin and I don't have?"

Harry nodded. "You think they're different?"

Lucian nodded. "What if, magic is one thing and, what did you call it? Mana?" Harry nodded. "What if magic and mana aren't the same thing?"

Harry nodded slowly. "They would work in different ways. What I can do with mana seems impossible by wizard standards and vice versa."

Lucian nodded. "And from what I've heard, the Goblin Nation has runes all over their city to stop wizards from using magic. What if, while you were there, you used mana instead of magic to heal the King? It would explain why everyone seems to think you are a kind of god, being able to break through the runes in Gringotts. But you didn't break the runes, you used an energy they didn't have runes in place for."

Harry nodded. "Yeah... it would explain why I can sense the energy in every living thing, even in people with no magic. I'm sensing mana and not looking past it to see the magic."

Lucian bounced. "Exactly."

The two of them poured over the scrolls on the table for a few minutes, trying to sort them out. A lot of them were what Harry described as 'magic'. The energy that wizards use to do magic. Some others were similar to his mana, describing it almost perfectly. There was also 'chi', 'chakra' and several other natural energies that Harry couldn't even begin to list.

"So, all these energies exist in the world, but people categorise it all as the same thing?" Devin asked.

Harry and Lucian nodded. "It seems like it." Harry answered. He leant back. "It would explain why I was able to heal Oliver but not Terry... from what I have read about healing spells from the books I got in London, a healer uses the patient's magic to guide theirs to do the healing. Healing spells don't work on civilians. If I was instinctively using my magic the way I would with mana then it wouldn't be able to heal Terry since he had no magic. Oliver is a vampire, he has his own magic so I would have been able to heal him."

Faustus nodded. "That is true. Healing spells usually only work on people with magic. It is why so few people of mixed blood or Muggleborns go into healing."

Harry nodded. "And when my magic was sealed off, by the runes in the goblin city, I automatically used my mana."

Lucian nodded. "It looks like it."

Medea tilted her head to the side. "Then how will you call upon your mana or magic when you need to, instead of whichever one is available to you?"

Harry sighed. "A lot if practice. I still have the rest of this month before school starts, even taking time out for some... prior engagements I still have loads of time. Especially since I don't sleep anymore."

Devil looked curiously at him. "Really?"

Harry nodded. "Yup. I haven't slept since I was eight." The others looked at him in various stages of shock and worry.

Lucian pulled a book out of nowhere. "Really? That's bad. The human body needs sleep to rest the brain and recuperate. Not sleeping in that long... it's not healthy."

Harry smiled. "My mind rests. I meditate and let my mind rest and recuperate. It's fine. I don't _need_ to sleep. I physically don't have the ability anymore." He then explained the incident when he was eight, not mentioning the wings.

They all talked for a while before Devin stood up and stretched. "Well, Solus and I are going flying now. We'll leave you magic experts to your conversation I know nothing about." The two of them left and Harry chuckled.

The four of them talked for a while, looking over the scrolls Lucian had and in the end Harry, Medea and Faustus left when Lucian had a moment of inspiration and rushed off to continue whatever it was he had been doing before they arrived. Medea drifted off, promising Harry that she would get in contact with some other elves to see if there was anything they knew that could help him.

He walked to his house, smiling when he saw Devin and Solus flying around in the air. He spotted a dot of white and smiled at Hedwig, following the dragon and rider as they twisted and turned through the sky. He reached out to Solus. "_Please don't hurt my owl._"

Solus thought back, "_Don't worry. I don't eat birds unless they've been plucked. The feathers get stuck in my teeth._"

Harry chuckled and drew his magic back. He staggered slightly and took a deep breath. Connecting to something that far away was draining.

He walked into his new home and looked around. He took note of everything he needed to fix the place up before heading back down to the village. He managed to get most of what he needed easily enough and headed back up to start on the restoration work.

He started with the Owlery, since Hedwig would kill him if he didn't.

Most of the wood was still good thanks to the charms to prevent it from rotting still being mostly in place. Once he had replaced the wood that needed replacing and polished and sanded everything it was looking a lot better. Harry was glad he had to do so many DIY jobs at the Dursleys.

Why pay for a handyman when you can just get the freak to do it, right?

Harry spent the rest of the day working on the Owlery and most of the night, only stopping once it got too dark to see clearly and starting again when it got light enough.

Harry worked on the Owlery until close to noon, before he got himself cleaned up in the stream behind the house (the house itself didn't have running water just yet) and put on a set of formal robes. He pulled out the bracelet that Hookfang had given him yesterday after the meeting with the king.

_~~Flashback~~_

"_So, Lord Irving. How did your meeting with Madam Bones go?"_

_Harry leant back in his chair and sighed. "We have a court date set for tomorrow. I will have to give evidence against the Dursleys and Dumbledore. The Dursleys are easy enough but Dumbledore will be harder. Plus everyone will then know I'm Harry Potter. I don't want that kind of fame. I didn't do anything to earn it. People praising me for my healing skills is alright, it's something I've done..."_

_Hookfang nodded. "I understand." They sat in silence for a moment before Hookfang began rummaging behind his desk. "Here." he passed the bracelet to Harry. "This is a special kind of bracer, while you wear it, you will look like whatever appearance you set it too and everyone who knows you by whatever name you choose will remember having seen you like that. You will have to tell Madam Bones the truth of course."_

_Harry nodded. "Right, so with this, I can make an appearance as Harry Potter and keep Harry Irving separate? Like two different people?"_

_Hookfang nodded. "Exactly. While you wear that, you can set your appearance to what everyone is expecting Harry Potter to look like and everyone who knew you as Harry Potter, your relatives for instance, will remember you by that appearance instead of your real one."_

_Harry grinned and Hookfang showed him how to set his appearance. They made him into a short, scrawny twig with short, untameable black hair like he had before he grew it out. They kept his eyes green but they gave him large, wire frame glasses held together by tape. Like he used to have before his eyes improved better than any other human's._

_~~end flashback~~_

Harry put the bracer on and activated it, feeling himself morph into 'Harry Potter'. He flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and waited for Madam Bones. She showed up and sat in a booth. He slid in next to her and explained the situation. She nodded and agreed not to mention his other appearance. It had nothing to do with the case after all.

She flooed with him to the ministry and led him to the Auror office. They sat and went over the court proceedings for a while before Madam Bones looked at the clock and told them it was time to go to the trial room. She called over three other Aurors and they escorted Harry to the chamber with her.

Dumbledore was sitting in the benches and smiled indulgently when Harry and Madam Bones walked in. He walked over. "Harry, my boy, don't you think this has gone far enough?" he looked disapprovingly down at him. "I think you are going a bit too far in your accusations."

One of the Aurors stepped up. "Return to your seat, Mr Dumbledore. You are here with the accused, you are to have no contact with the prosecutor."

Dumbledore frowned. "Evan, my boy, surely there is-"

"Return to your seat, Mr Dumbledore. Before I have to use force."

"Mr Abercrombie."

"I am not your student anymore, Mr Dumbledore. I am an Auror and I am doing my job. Return to your seat." He forcefully turned Dumbledore around and pushed him towards the benches. Dumbledore gave him a disappointed look and shuffled off to the bench. The Dursleys were escorted in next and were sat next to Dumbledore on the benches, Harry was sat on a bench on the other side of the room.

Madam Bones stood at the head as all the members of the court came in and took their seats. The snooty, arrogant man Harry recognised from Gringotts was there. The man with the bowler hat was also there, sitting behind the Judges table.

He looked around nervously. "Well, now then... let's get this started, shall we?" he took register and the court scribe hurriedly scribbled it down. Once he finished he looked around nervously again. "Now, due to the nature of the trial in question all parties are to be questioned under veritaserum first, then once everyone has been questioned we will question everyone again without the truth serum, to clarify your answers."

The court nodded. Dumbledore looked nervous for a second before he smiled benignly. "May I request for the Serum made by Potions Master Snape? He is the best in Britain."

"No." Came the short response. Dumbledore looked shocked and affronted. "Since you are sitting on trial you cannot request for anyone specific to brew the truth serum and most especially not one of _your employees_. It goes against the laws the wizengammot have in place for trials." The minister looked incredibly nervous before he straightened up. "Now, first up is the prosecutor, Mr Potter, if you could take a seat in the chair in the middle for me?"

Harry nodded and hopped down off the bench, making his short stature more obvious. He climbed up onto the chair (Literally _climbed_. He had to lift himself onto the seat with his hands before turning around to sit down) and sat, swinging his legs in the few inches between his feet and the floor. He really was quite short but Hookfang assured him that this was normal for someone who had been starved as much as he had been.

Everyone in the room began muttering. Harry could pick up phrases like 'son his age' and 'not that short' and 'why is he so tiny?'

The minister formally asked him for his consent and Harry gave it. Madam Bones gave him the truth serum and he... faded out? He didn't really know what it was. He was aware of being asked questions and answering them but he had no idea what was going on. He felt the serum wear off and blinked and shook his head.

An Auror gently took him by the arm and led him back to the bench. He blushed when the man picked him up to put him on the bench as he was still slightly dazed from the serum.

He watched in slight confusion as the Dursleys were then charged and led away. Harry couldn't have said later what their punishment was, since he was still groggy but he knew the next part would be harder and the wizengammot would leave the room to make their decision.


	7. Chapter 7

**Prize Cookie** goes to _**OFUNU**_! *gives virtual cookie* Ofunu correctly guessed Burden's rest and villagers as being from Dawn of the Dragons (online game). I have changed their backgrounds and stories so they better fit with the story.

**Now then**! I've had a flame in regards to Harry sleeping in this chapter. From this chapter onwards Harry can actually sleep. It is best explained in one of the later chapters when Harry is at Hogwarts but I'll give you a basic rundown here. Harry hasn't slept since his transformation. At first it was similar to when Colette couldn't sleep after hers. I have it in this story that losing the ability to sleep is a _side effect _of the transformation itself and angels regain the ability later.

The reason Harry hasn't slept until now is because his meditating helps his mind rest and take everything in, his magic and mana both heal him so his body doesn't experience the negative effects of not sleeping. The reason he slept here specifically is because the last eight days have been filled with so much new information, stressful situations and emotional upheaval that his mind basically shut down to process everything properly.

Hope that cleared that up for you all.

Harry stumbled out of the floo at his home. The trial was over. Dumbledore had been charged with everything he had done to him and it had unearthed some things the man had hidden. There were a few more trials scheduled in and a number of people had been contacted to go to either St Mungo's or Gringotts depending on what they needed done.

He walked outside and flopped down on the grass, staring up at the darkening sky. It was over.

Dumbledore had been sentenced and the Dursleys were gone for good.

Harry laughed quietly. He would never have to see them again. He laughed hysterically for a few moments before his laughter morphed into tears. He grieved for his lost childhood, all the years he spent with the Dursleys when he should have been with someone else, someone who would have loved him and gave him a proper childhood, someone who would have shown him what family was really like.

He cried himself to sleep under the first stars of the night.

Harry woke up shortly before dawn. He stretched languidly out on the dew-damp grass and took a deep breath, smelling the early morning smells of dew and the unique smell the air holds just before the sunrise. He brought one of his hands down from above his head and rubbed at his eyes before running it through his hair. His eyes snapped open to look up at the dusky, pre-dawn sky.

He had been asleep.

He hadn't done that in three years.

He sat up and tipped his head, cracking his neck, before he stood and popped his back. The ground was less than comfortable. He grimaced when he realised his clothes were damp from the dew and early morning mist. He walked over to the river and had a freezing cold bath before putting some clean, dry clothes on.

He ran a brush through his hair and tied it up into a loose bun at the base of his neck, not feeling in the mood to worry about his appearance. It was not like he would be seeing anyone at this time of the morning.

He pulled out his swords and ran through a few basic moves to warm up for the day before switching his new blades for his old, wooden training swords and swinging them around wildly until the sun had finished its accent over the horizon and was feebly trying to poke through the trees. The sky had gone a beautiful gold and the clouds tinged pink and orange. He put his wooden swords away and ran a hand through his hair.

He felt so unsettled lately, unable to stay with one thing for too long. He didn't know what was causing it.

He walked into the forest and took a walk, Hedwig flying over to land on his shoulder. He walked until the morning dew had evaporated and Hedwig decided to go and get some sleep. He was thankful for her company. She didn't need to say anything, just being there was enough. He appreciated that.

He smiled as he walked, listening to the birds in the trees sing to the sun. He smelt the fresh grass and summer flowers, the clear air that promised a dry, sunny day. He took a deep breath a sighed happily, feeling much more relaxed than a few moments ago.

When he re-entered the clearing his new house was in he shook himself and decided to get to work on something. He was feeling a bit lazy today so he decided to do some spell casting instead of fixing up the house. He sat on the now dry grass and closed his eyes. In seconds he had found his magic. If Lucian was right then his mana should be here too. He looked past it, deeper into himself and his eyes snapped open when he felt his mana. It was familiar, but somehow new. A bright beacon of light hidden just behind his magic.

He closed his eyes and found his mana again. He carefully examined it for a while. It seemed weak and under developed, nowhere near as strong as he thought it would be. He pulled it up and focused on casting _**Aqua Edge**_. A light spell would have been more attuned to his mana but he thought a novice rank spell would be easier to cast.

Harry gasped silently as he shaped the mana. It flowed so much easier than his magic ever had. It moved exactly where he wanted it to go without a second hesitation. It took the shape he wanted effortlessly. When he released the mana and his spell shot off towards a tree he was actually disappointed at how weak it was. He supposed it would be a while before his mana was at the level it should be.

He spent a good portion of the morning practicing spell casting and took a rest at lunch. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. Training hadn't been that hard since he started working with his magic years ago. He lay on the grass savouring the silence of his home. It was one of the main reasons he had chosen this property.

It was nice to be in such relative silence after the noise and bustle of London. His ears hurt from all the noise and he knew Hogwarts would be louder. He hated being around lots of people.

Harry sighed. As much as he was wary to let people close in case they betrayed him, he was still an eleven year old boy desperate for attention but afraid of getting hurt. He didn't want to be taken advantage of by someone like Mithos but he wanted friends. He thought back to Hermione. She was a bit annoying and a huge know-it-all but she seemed like a good girl, genuine, not afraid to speak her mind and not the type to lie to someone for her own gain. He wasn't going to promise to be her friend but she was someone he could see himself spending a lot of time with, getting to know and possibly being friends with. He would have to see.

Thinking of Hermione led his thoughts to Hogwarts. It was a boarding school and he would be spending the next seven years sharing a room with the same group of boys unless he or one of them made head boy in their last year, as the head boy and head girl had their own rooms, according to Hogwarts, A History.

Of all the houses he supposed Hufflepuff or Gryffindor would suit him best.

He knew he was brave. He wasn't fearless, not by any means, but bravery wasn't about feeling no fear, it is acting in spite of it.

He knew he was chivalrous. It was a very British concept but he was a genuine gentleman. Chivalry was something that not many people practiced in this day and age, though most of it was common courtesy, like holding a door open for the person behind you or standing up on a bus or the subway when someone who needs the seat more than you comes on. He was a gentleman without the waistcoat.

Hmm... note to self, buy a waistcoat... and a bowtie... and a pocket watch.

Harry knew he was loyal. He believed loyalty was built on trust but his trust was hard to earn. Hookfang had earned his trust, as had Hedwig and surprisingly, Devin, though he only knew the man for a very short time. He didn't give his trust easily, but he knew, from the few people he did trust, that once they had earned his loyalty, he would do anything for them.

There was no doubt he was hard working. This was the longest he had sat still without meditating in a long, long, _long_ time. He never gave anything half his best. If he was going to do anything, he was going to give it his all. Hard work pays off in the end.

Dwarven vow number 6: There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

Harry sat up and wiped his forehead. He was covered in drying sweat from his work out that morning and it was making his skin itch. He bathed quickly in the river and got dressed, actually putting his hair up properly this time. He sat back on the grass and pulled out a book, there were a few he wouldn't mind reading again, he may have a photographic memory but nothing was better than reading things through a few times. Plus he needed to be able to read faster if he wanted to keep on top of his workload at school.

He looked over to the trees when he heard voices and footsteps along with a distinctive harp music that told him Medea was among the group. After a few moments he was able to recognise a deep male voice as Devin and another as Roland. There was a voice distinct to young girls and a male voice he didn't recognise. He frowned and focused on the footsteps. There was something...

He knew Solus was there, since Devin was, but still... the footsteps sounded wrong somehow. He looked at the mana in that direction and was able to pick out the people coming this way. He nodded. There was another elf with them. They weren't speaking so Harry hadn't known they were there. It was hard to tell how many people were approaching just from the footsteps but he could tell there were too many for five people and a dragon.

He stood up and brought his swords out, fastening the sheaths to his waist. He made sure he was presentable and stood, facing the direction they were coming from. Hedwig fluttered down and landed on his shoulder and he gently caressed her feathers.

He watched the tree line and soon the approaching group stepped out from the shadows. Harry smirked slightly as a well timed breeze ruffled his clothes and caused his hair to sway slightly. He stepped forwards and met the group half way. "Welcome." He smiled gently. He was tempted to say something like 'I've been expecting you' but thought that might sound overly cliché.

Devin stepped forwards. "Hey, Harry! Finally found you. 'A house in the woods' is not very good directions to work from." He turned to face the others. "Medea spoke to her old village and they sent someone to help."

The elf stepped forwards. "Well met, child. I am Valerian." She was tall, somewhere close to seven feet, Harry was guessing. She had waist length green hair with pink and white highlights. While she looked delicate Harry got the feeling that this was not a woman you wanted to get on the wrong side of.

He bowed to her. "Well met, Valerian. I am Harry Irving."

The elf nodded and looked at the two humans Harry didn't recognise. There was an older man and a girl about his age. The girl skipped over and gave Harry a hug. "It's lovely to meet you Harry Irving. The dinkymites have told me all about you. I'm Luna Lovegood and this is my daddy, Xenophilius."

The man stepped forward and Harry mutely shook his hand. "Please, just call me Xeno."

Harry nodded and shook himself, pulling himself together. "Um… Hi. Yeah, It's nice to meet you both." He looked at the bubbly girl who was now gushing over Hedwig. That was the first time he had been hugged. He quietly cleared his throat and took a deep breath, centring himself.

He looked over their mana gain and froze, staring at Luna. What in the nine levels of Niflheim was she?! He watched as she drifted off and wandered the garden, seemingly oblivious to everything around her. Harry looked at her dad.

"Luna is a half-spirit. Her mother was a full blooded spirit."

Harry froze again. A spirit. A real spirit. Like a summon spirit? An actual spirit! Harry made a sound half way between a squeak and a high pitched whine and Devin laughed. Harry shook his head. "Sorry… a spirit?" Xeno nodded and Harry swayed backwards slightly. "A spirit…" he whispered. He shook his head slightly. "Sorry… a lot has happened in the last eight days. This is a lot to take in."

Valerian stepped forward. "Perhaps you simply need to sleep and let your mind process things? Meditation can only do so much."

Harry nodded. "I know. I physically lost the ability to sleep three years ago but I slept last night. I'm not sure why."

The elf nodded slightly. "Perhaps it is because you have been through so much recently that your mind shut down to process everything?"

Harry nodded slowly. "Perhaps. So, what brings you all here?"

Valerian smirked. "Medea contacted our village and told us about you. I came as our representative. Elves usually don't like to have anything to do with humans on principal after what they did to our cousins," she cast Medea a sideways glance "but we have made an exception for you."

Harry tilted his head. "What did we do?"

Valerian scowled at Harry but after a moment her expression softened. "You are genuinely asking?"

Harry nodded. "I know humans are cruel and have an annoying habit of killing things. I'm sorry if my question upset you." He bowed slightly.

Valerian shook her head. "Perhaps I will tell you one day. For now, I will focus on you. Your talents are interesting and the coven is interested in them. We have heard legends of powers like yours but have never seen evidence they exist."

Harry tilted his head. "To be honest, I got my powers from a GameCube game. Tales of Symphonia. I only just started using mana for my spells today. Until now I've been using my magic to do it so they haven't worked like they should."

Valerian nodded. "May I see a demonstration?"

Harry nodded. "In a moment, yes." He turned back to Xeno, as Luna was still dancing around the field. "What brings you and Luna here?"

The man shrugged. "Luna said we should be here and so we are. Even I have trouble understanding her sometimes."

Harry frowned and looked over at the girl. "I see…" he shook his head. "Well, demonstration." He moved into the middle of the field by the side of his house and Luna skipped over to stand with everyone else against the wall. Harry took aim at a tree and unleashed a few Novice tier spells. He managed to cast _**Fireball**_, _**Icicle, Aqua Edge, Stone Blast, Wind Blade**_ and _**Lightning**_ but he was unable to cast any light or darkness spells. He stood breathing heavily for a moment before he turned back to his guests. "Those are some of the novice rank spells I know. I can't cast anything more than that right now but I'm working on it."

Devin tilted his head. "Why can't you cast them if you know how?"

Harry sighed. He felt like he was talking in circles he kept having to explain this. "Doing anything needs more than just the knowledge of how to do it. I have the knowledge of how to cast the spells but I don't have the strength. It would be like a man picking up a sword for the first time. He can read all the theory he wants but using a sword for the first time his movements would be clumsy and weak but the more he practices the better he gets."

Roland stepped forward. "Speaking of swords, would you like that spar?"

Harry grinned and pulled out his swords. Roland drew his own and stepped up to Harry, stopping a short distance away. Harry smirked nervously. "Let's start slow and build up, I've never had a sparring partner before."

Roland grinned and Harry watched the light glisten off the man's swords. They suddenly looked much more deadly than they had before. Harry felt a sliver of fear run up his spine but pushed it away. This man was not going to kill him and he had the ability to heal anything else. This was just a spar, not a fight to the death.

Roland stood back and Harry knew he would have to make the first move. He took a deep, steadying breath and stepped forwards. Before he could even start an attack Roland had slashed at Harry with his right blade. Harry easily blocked the attack and slashed back. For a few moments their movements were slow and easy to block and parry, neither were trying to land a hit.

Roland then took a step back and aimed a stab for Harry who clumsily knocked it to the side. This however, opened him up to an attack from Roland. The man slammed the flat of his blade into Harry's side. Harry staggered backwards and rubbed his side, he couldn't actually feel pain but he knew it had hurt and was most likely to leave a beautiful bruise unless he healed it. It wasn't enough to impede his movements though.

He leapt back towards Roland and put the man on the defensive. He hurled one slash after the next, throwing everything he had at the man who easily blocked, parried and dodged every attack. After a moment he stepped up the game and put Harry on the defensive.

Harry watched as first one sword and then the next slashed and hacked at him, wearing down his defence. He back stepped and dodged as many as he could but the whirling blades kept moving faster and closing in on him. Suddenly his world tipped as he tripped over something and lost his balance, falling with a bump onto his back. He swallowed and looked at the wickedly sharp blade held only an inch from his throat.

Roland stepped back and Harry pushed himself to his feet. "Point." he panted.

The man nodded and Harry took a battle ready stance, the older swordsman followed his lead. Harry ran at Roland, intending to slash at him but the man blocked the blade and Harry felt the cold pull of the steel as it bit into the skin of his wrist, warm blood trickling down his forearm. Harry used the man's slight moment of distraction to slash at him and almost managed to cut the man's shirt but he took a single step back and avoided it.

Harry's head then snapped to the side and he spun almost a half circle as the man slapped in across the face with the blade. He felt his cheek bone shatter and winced. He spun with his momentum and charged at Roland who simply side stepped and smashed Harry in the back of the head with the hilt of one sword.

Harry dropped to his hands and knees, his swords abandoned on the ground beside him. He knelt, breathing heavily and watching the world spin around him for a moment before he pitched sideways and lay on his side on the floor.

Harry felt a strong hand grip his shoulder and moved one hand to gently grasp it. He nodded slightly when he heard his name being called and managed to blink away the dizziness. It had been quite a while since he was knocked silly like that.

Harry took a deep breath and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "I'm okay..."

Roland frowned. "You weren't kidding when you said you've never been trained… there really was no one to show you even the basics?"

Harry shook his head. "No… everything I know is self thought."

Roland grinned. "Well then, I'll just have to teach you. I'm sure Marcus, the captain of the town guard, will be happy to help too. He hasn't had a new recruit in a while."

Valerian nodded. "I shall assist you with your spell casting. My people have many techniques that you may find useful."

Harry inclined his head in thanks.

Roland looked at the cut on Harry's arm. "You should probably get that looked at."

Harry looked at where the man was pointing and shook his head. "It's fine. I can heal it." he pulled up his magic and cast a healing spell. He felt the skin on his wrist knit back up and cast a spell at his side, cheek and the back of his head. He stood up and stretched. "See, all good."

Roland still looked unsure. "Your head?"

"All healed. My magic is so used to healing me that it doesn't matter that I use it like I would use mana, it still does the job." He shrugged. "I will work on learning the right spells with the right energy. I still have the rest of this month before school to train, plus nights. I need something to do while everyone else is asleep."

Luna floated over and Harry stared. She actually floated though she didn't leave the ground. "I shall lend you my assistance, Harry Irving. Daddy has to go on a trip in a few months and doesn't want to leave me alone at home so I shall be attending Hogwarts a year early. Headmistress McGonagall approved it, though the previous headmaster, Dumbledore, was against it."

Harry nodded his head. "Thank you, Luna. You may just call me Harry though, no need to use my full name every time." He smiled as he looked over the group. Was this friendship? He smiled a bit wider and picked up his swords, putting them back in the sheaths. The rest of the month was going to be fun.

.oOo.

I realised at the beginins of this chapter that it's been eight days since Harry received his Hogwarts letter.

Let me break it down for you all.  
Wednesday, July 21st. Harry receives Hogwarts letter at around midnight and goes with Hagrid to Leakey Cauldron until morning. Explores alleys. Meets and heals goblin king. Oficialy changes name. Begins audit of accounts but is interrupted by need to go back to Hagrid.  
Thursday, August 1st, Meets Hagrid for breakfast. Clothes shopping. Bys wand and staff. Buys books. Meets Hedwig. Finds out Hagrid is drugging him.  
Friday, August 2nd, 4Am goes to Gringotts, finds it has been robbed. Goes to see Hookfang. Finds out drug was made by Dumbledore. Gets medical and magical scans. Meets Athena. Hookfang sends copy to Mungo's and Ministry. Harry interrupts argument between Lord Ragnarock and Fudge. (end of 3) 6AM goes back to Leaky Cauldron. Buys rest of school supplies and subscriptions to news papers. Goes back to Dursleys by evening. Gathers his things and leaves. Meets Terry and Steven. Terry Dies. Takes terry and Steven to church. Goes back to leaky cauldron. Finds out he is in all the newspapers  
Saturday, August 3rd. Harry goes out to muggle London and saves couple from car crash. Buys some stuff and goes back to Leaky Cauldron. Buys book on how to use a quill. Meets Grangers and McGonagall. (End of 4) Goes back to Hookfang and goes over accounts properly. Gets etiquette books. Reads parents wills. Reads parent's journals.  
Sunday, August 4th, Reads parent's journals. Sums up to sorting and carries on reading. Meets with Madam Bones. Places charges against Dursleys and Dumbledore. Reads parents journals more. Flies with Hedwig.  
Monday, August 5th, Reads etiquette books. Meet Oliver the vampire. Reads more from etiquette books.  
Tuesday, August 6th, Goes to Gringotts. Gets swords and gets and gives allegiance with goblins. Visits properties. Moves into one. Meets Roland, Solus, Devin, Medea, Lucian, Faustus. Fix Owlery.  
Wednesday, August 7th, Go to ministry for trials. Come home, falls asleep.  
Thursday, August 8th, Wakes up. Goes for walk. Finds mana for real. Practices Mana-magic. Meets Valerian, Luna and Xeno. Spar with Roland. Valerian offers to train him.

I hadn't really intended to fit so much into so few days.


	8. Chapter 8

Harry looked at platforms nine and ten. The past month had been exhausting but rewarding and now he was finally heading off to school. His spell casting was improving, he mostly focused on healing spells though. He didn't want to let anyone else die. His swordsmanship had improved a lot. Roland took it as a personal offence for someone to be a dual swordsman and not be able to use them properly. Marcus, the leader of the town guard was a slave-driver, although the one time Harry used that phrase near him he was beaten up so badly that he hurt for days afterwards.

The Elvin coven he had contact with was really interested in his abilities but he didn't let them know too much or any of the more dangerous spells. He taught them (via Valerian) how to access Mana and use healing and support spells. Thankfully those were the only spells they were interested in.

In return Valerian taught him more about his telepath abilities, how to sense differences in the mana and what each difference meant. She also helped him to recognise the results of his diagnostic spells, as he had only have experience with physical injuries.

Luna and her father taught him a lot about the numerous different magical creatures, how and where they lived, what kind of special abilities they had and their rights in wizarding Britain.

They had none.

Harry looked at Luna and Xeno, who were standing next to him on the platform. This was it. He was about to step out of whatever life he had built this summer and was stepping into a new one. He was about to go to school, with children his own age and learn from a teacher.

He suddenly felt very inadequate.

He was a slow reader, from learning how to read so late and not reading anything other than cookery books, packets for food and the speech bubbles on Tales of Symphonia. He could do his studying at night since he had twenty four hours in a day whereas other people had to take time out for sleep. He had improved a bit over the summer but the one time he and Luna sat and read together he was embarrassed at how much slower than her he was.

He had no idea how to behave in social situations, he had no idea how to handle children his own age and he had no idea what was expected of him in this new world. Luna didn't count as 'interacting with a child his own age' since no-one knew how to handle her and being a half-spirit she was vastly different to a human child.

Xeno gently gripped his shoulder. "Don't worry, Harry. You'll be fine."

Harry gave a shaky smile at the older man and turned to face the barrier. He braced himself and stepped through. The platform was buzzing with life. He gasped quietly and tried to block out the feel of so much life energy around him. Oh, this was worse than Diagon alley. Less people but _way_ less space. They were more cramped.

So much life in such a small space... it was dizzyingly overwhelming.

Xeno gently gripped his shoulder and steered him to the train. "You'll be fine Harry. Just be yourself."

Harry nodded, still not quite convinced. "Thanks Xeno. You're right. I'll be fine. Come on Luna, Let's go find somewhere to sit."

Luna nodded. "Okay Harry. Bye daddy. I'll see you next summer."

Xeno nodded. "Be safe sweet heart. Listen to your teachers, do your homework and do your best in class. I don't want to get any letters home that aren't from you two, alright?" he smiled at them both.

"I promise daddy." Luna hugged her dad and stepped back.

Harry held out his hand and Xeno shook it. "I will keep her out of trouble. We shall see you next summer."

They both stepped onto the train and went to find a compartment. They found one easily enough and Harry helped Luna put her trunk on the rack above their seats. Luna took out a book to read and Harry pulled out a small block of wood and began carving. It was a hobby he had picked up a week or so ago, he needed something to do that didn't involve a lot of movement or reading (books got boring after a while). He was still bad at it but he was improving.

A few minutes later the door opened and Harry and Luna looked up. It was a red haired boy. "Have either of you seen a really short boy with spiky black hair and bright green eyes? Harry? We agreed to meet and I can't find him."

"Harry?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. Harry Potter. He's my best mate."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "No, I have not seen him. If I do I will let you know."

The boy nodded. "Thanks. I'm Ron by the way. Ron Weasley."

"Lord Harry Irving, this is my friend, Luna Lovegood."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I know. She used to play with my sister sometimes when they were little, we live nearby. Why are you here Loony? You don't start school until next year."

Luna smiled. "Oh, Daddy has to go on a trip in about a month. He won't be back until about February and he didn't want to leave me on my own or staying around someone else's house for all that time. Headmistress McGonagall agreed to let me attend school a year early as it is a special case."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Right. Whatever." He left and shut the door.

"Rude." Harry scoffed and turned to Luna. "Are you alright?"

Luna nodded. "Yes. Ronald is always very rude. I'm fine."

Harry nodded and went back to his carving. He was determined to make it a recognisable shape this time. How hard was an owl anyway? He glanced at Hedwig and back down at his carving.

A short while later the train took off and Harry glanced out the window before looking back at his carving. The next hour or so passed in relative silence before the door opened again. "Have either of you seen oh Harry! Hello."

Harry looked up and smiled at Hermione, a ginger cat nestled in her arms. "Good morning Hermione. Have either of us seen what?"

Hermione shook her head. "Have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville lost one."

Harry put his carving away. "Pet or familiar?"

"Familiar I think."

Harry nodded. "I can find it easily, where's Neville?"

Hermione smiled. "This way." She led Harry to a small, round boy who was looked around the floor nervously. "Neville, this is my friend Harry. Harry this is Neville." The cat meowed. "Oh, and this is Crookshanks."

Harry smiled. "Nice to meet you. Have either of you got a compartment yet?"

Hermione looked at the two trunks on the floor. "No, not yet. We've been looking for Trevor."

Harry nodded. "Why don't you sit with Luna and me?" Hermione and Neville agreed and Harry helped them move their trunks into their compartment. "Now, Neville. Is Trevor a pet of a familiar?"

"Um... he's my familiar..." Neville almost whispered.

Harry nodded. "Hold on then." He looked at Neville's magic and immediately found the familiar bond. He followed it with his eyes. "I see where he is. Follow me." He led Neville out of the compartment and down the train. They opened the door to the bathroom and Neville leapt forwards and scooped up his toad. "There. He just wanted some water. Come on, let's get back to the girls."

As they walked back down the train Harry spotted Hermione standing in the corridor outside their compartment. Three boys where standing with their backs to Harry but by the look on Hermione's face they weren't being friendly. Harry stepped up and pulled himself to his full height (head and shoulders taller than the boy in front of him) and puffed out his shoulders, exaggerating his muscles. "I do hope there isn't a problem here." He spoke softly, with a hint of a threat. It was a tone he learned from Vernon which Marcus helped him to perfect over the summer.

The boys whipped around and saw Harry standing rather close to the blond boy in the middle. He had to crane his neck to look up at him. He paled visibly and seemed to cower into himself as he took a few steps backwards. Not that his skin could pale much, did he ever go outside? English people were normally pale but this boy gave the term 'white' a new definition.

Hermione sighed. "Harry!"

Harry looked over at Hermione, completely ignoring the boy standing right in front of him. "Hermione. I do hope these boys are not giving you any trouble?" he looked down at the ferrety boy.

The boy swallowed. "Um... no. No trouble." a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. His two bodyguards seemed like they were debating whether to run and hide or punch Harry. Running seemed to be winning out if their edging away was any indication.

Harry nodded. "Good. It would be very unbecoming if you were harassing this young lady."

The boy swallowed and looked down at the two swords Harry had still not removed from his waist. "Naturally." He stood up a bit straighter and took another step back so Harry was no longer towering over him, though he still had to look up. "I'm Malfoy by the way. Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and Goyle." He nodded at the two cavemen on either side of him.

Harry inclined his head. "Lord Harry Irving."

Neville stepped up slightly. "Neville Longbottom."

Malfoy sneered. "Longbottom..." he looked up at Harry. "You'll see that some wizarding families are better than others. You don't want to be seen associating with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand.

Harry shook it. "I can tell the right sort from the wrong for myself, I do have a mind of my own." He cast a significant glance at the two cavemen. "I thank you for your offer though. But it won't be necessary. Now, if you'll excuse us." He stood still and watched the pale boy in front of him.

The boy looked rather indignant when he realised he had just been dismissed. He huffed and turned around, motioning the two boys to follow him muttering, "My father will hear about this." under his breath.

Harry raised an eyebrow and watched the boy stalk away. He smiled as a few people clapped for a moment before turning back to what they had been doing before the altercation had grabbed their attention. He motioned Hermione and Neville into their compartment and shut the door behind them. "Are you alright Hermione?"

She nodded. "Yes. He was insulting me and being rather rude but it's fine. I'm used to it."

Harry sighed. "You shouldn't be used to people insulting you." he shook his head. "I know what that's like... it doesn't make for a good mental state." He glanced out the window and stared unseeing at the countryside. Medea had come to him a few days after the trial and slapped him. Hard. She told him he was depressed and needed to get himself straightened out. She made him sit down and talk about everything with someone. He chose Hedwig and spent most nights just talking to her.

It actually did help after a while. He spent several nights pacing and ranting, shouting about how it was unfair and they should have treated him better. He felt much better afterwards and occasionally even went to sleep for a while. Sleep made him feel better though her preferred not to waste his time. Medea made him promise to sleep at least once a week, three or four times when he was in high stress situations like exams.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face Hermione who was looking at him in concern. He shook his head. "Sorry. I spaced out. I'm alright. So, Hogwarts. Looking forward to it?"

The four of them talked for the rest of the train ride. Harry repeatedly had to tell Hermione to stop talking, breathe and let other people take part in the conversation. She kept smiling sheepishly and apologising but it wasn't long before she fell back onto old habits again. Luna found it funny. Neville looked a bit overwhelmed and he jumped a bit every time Harry asked him a question directly.

"So, what house do you think you'll get?" Harry looked at the other three.

Luna smiled. "I think I'll be in Ravenclaw. Daddy sais I think like one. I'm always looking for new things to learn."

Hermione smiled. "Ravenclaw sounds nice but I'm hoping for Gryffindor. It's the best one."

Neville smiled. "I'll probably be Hufflepuff. Everyone in my family has always been in Gryffindor but I know I'm not brave enough. Gran will be so disappointed..." he looked down at the floor.

Harry smiled and gripped the shy boy's shoulder. "Don't worry. If you end up in Hufflepuff you know you have a friend there. I'm definitely going to be a badger. Loyal and hard working." Trevor croaked and Harry glanced at Hedwig when she translated. "Trevor thinks you'll get Gryffindor. You're braver than you think."

Neville looked at Harry in awe. "You can speak toad?"

He shook his head. "No, but Hedwig can and since she's my familiar and we share a telepathy bond I can understand her."

Neville gaped. "Telepathy bond? Those are really rare!"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, well, I'm a telepath. Telepathy bonds are easy for me to make." He looked at Hermione. "Gryffindor isn't the best house. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. None of them are better or worse than the others. You can't judge an entire group of people based on what a few of them have done."

Hermione looked vaguely insulted. "I'm not _judging_ them!"

Harry shook his head. "You are. You said Gryffindor is the best house. That implies you think that all Gryffindors are better than everyone else. That is judging."

Hermione looked down. "Oh."

Harry sighed. "It's okay. Everyone judges everyone else. We see someone and we judge them, immediately categorise them into some kind of group. 'Blonds are dumb', 'Red heads have tempers', 'rich people are snobs', 'Asians are smart', 'black people have large-'" Harry quickly cut himself off. "You get my point. It's when you make assumptions about a person based on one group without actually getting to know that person, or really anyone from that group, that it starts to cause problems."

Hermione nodded. "So... I need to take the time to get to know someone before making judgments?"

Harry nodded. "Exactly. Any of the houses would be good. I think you would suit Ravenclaw best. You are very studious and are always looking for new things to learn. Ravenclaw would definitely suit you. Besides, would you rather spend the next seven years living with people who make fun of you because you like books, or people who would sit next to you with a book of their own?"

Hermione nodded. "Alright. That makes sense. Do you know how we'll be sorted?"

He shook his head. "No. Apparently it's supposed to be kept secret until the sorting starts. Don't worry though, a good portion of the people getting sorted are first-gens like you. It won't be something that requires you to display your knowledge or some kind of feat of daring. They won't put us in danger or put us out of our depth."

Luna nodded. "Considering the houses are arranged by personality and learning style I think it will be some kind of personality test."

Neville nodded. "That makes sense."

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Right. I'm sorry. I don't mean to judge."

Harry gripped her shoulder. "It's okay." the four of them spoke for a while, talking about various things. They talked about hobbies and interests and spent the journey getting to know one another. When they got close to the school they took turns changing in the compartment while the other two stood outside and made sure they had everything and were ready.

Hermione looked at the three trunks. "Harry, where's yours?"

Harry smiled and held up his pouch. "It's bottomless and feather light. It means I don't need a rucksack or trunk and will never forget my books anywhere." Hermione looked at her own schoolbag and sighed. Harry smiled. "If you ask the charms professor they might charm it for you."

Hermione brightened and nodded before shutting her trunk.

They all looked up when a voice appeared from the ceiling. "_All students are to get changed into their uniforms if they have not already done so, we will be arriving at the station shortly. Please leave your luggage on the train as it will be brought to the castle separately._"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Well, at least we won't have to lug these up to the school."

They sat down and waited for the train to stop. When it did Harry moved his head to the side and Hedwig fluttered over to sit there from where she had been on Neville's knee, talking with Trevor. Hermione picked up Crookshanks and Neville checked to make sure Trevor was in his pocket. Harry held his hand out to stall the other three and suddenly the entire corridor was flooded with students.

He looked over at them and smiled. "Everyone always tries to get off as soon as the train stops. Magical trains seem to be no different. If we wait a moment the flood of people will thin out and we will be able to move without being shoulder to shoulder with everyone else." Harry was thankful for his limited experience with the London subway from the few times his relatives had brought him along on a trip to London and not used the car.

They waited a few moments and the throng of people began to thin. They left their compartment and stepped onto the platform. "Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!"

Harry smiled as he spotted Hagrid and led his three friends over to the half-giant. "Good evening Hagrid. I trust your summer has been pleasant?"

Hagrid smiled. "'Ello 'Arry. Summer's been great. Thanks fer askin'." He looked back over the platform. "Firs' years!" a few more people came over and Hagrid looked them all over. "This everyone?"

The first years shrugged. Honestly, did this man expect them all to know everyone already? Two more girls came off the train and came over. The older one smiled up at the gate keeper. "This is all of them Hagrid. See you firsties up at the school. Hope to see you in Slytherin!" She smiled and jogged over to the carriages where a boy about her age was holding one of them for her.

Harry blinked at the skeletal horse with wings... he could see it now when just a month ago he couldn't... didn't Hagrid say something about them? Harry shook his head. _I'll read up on them later_.

Hagrid led the first years down a narrow, slippery path. Harry frowned. The only light they had was from the man's lantern and the ground was covered in moss and super slippery. He steadied Hermione as she slipped and almost fell. The thick trees on either side of the path blocked off all the light. They didn't even have a hand rail. This was incredibly unsafe.

Harry looked up as they went round a corner and froze. There, across a moonlit lake, was a castle. Its towers were silhouetted against the sky, the moon poking out from behind one casting an ethereal glow. Harry felt his breath hitch and he blinked back at the emotions he felt rising up.

The only thought that he could think was '_home_'. He shook his head and followed the other first years to some kind of dock. He hopped into the boat Hermione, Luna and Neville were in front of. He held out a hand and helped all three of them into the boat before sitting down. He smirked as Malfoy sneered at the boat and whispered to one of his bodyguards '_They can't expect us to ride in _these_ can they? My father will hear about this. I shouldn't have to sit in this... this... mouldy, crumbling wreck! It can't be safe. Or clean._' Harry shook his head and tuned the boy out.

Hagrid looked them all over before nodding. "Are you all in? Right then. Forward!" the boats glided away from the dock and headed across the lake. Harry felt his chest tighten and he kept his gaze up and away from the water below them.

It wasn't that he was afraid of drowning, he just didn't know how to swim. When would he have learned, really? He spent his whole life working as a slave for his relatives. They didn't take him out swimming and they took him out of school long before swimming lessons were offered.

He looked up at the castle. It was more impressive the closer you got. Harry knew he could see it much better than anyone else could. Even with how dark it was he could count each tile on the tallest tower, count each brick on the walls. He counted the number of rows of windows. Eight. Eight rows of windows meant seven floors, ground floor included.

He shook his head. England had such a weird way of numbering floors, the ground floor was the one on the ground, the first floor one up, second floor was two up. Americans had it much easier. The first floor was the one on the ground, the first floor when you walk into a building. The second floor was the one above it. Why did-

"Mind yer heads!"

Harry ducked as the boat sailed through a wall of hanging ivy. He was spacing out a lot today. He stepped out of the boat and again helped the ladies and Neville before the group of first years followed Hagrid up a flight of stairs and through a door into another hall. There were double doors to either side and Harry realised they had come in through a side door. The massive, towering ones behind him must be the front doors in, while the smaller pair at the top of the flight of stairs must lead into some kind of hall, which would make this an entrance hall.

The floor was a beautiful polished marble. The walls were bare stone but somehow seemed artistic. There where torch brackets along the walls illuminating the room in a warm light. The only thing Harry could think of to describe the staircase was 'grand'. It swept upwards gracefully if that was even possible. There was a lady standing at the top.

She was tall with dark skin and flowing black hair, darker than anything Harry had ever seen. It fell in gentle waves down to her waist. Perched on top of her hair was a broad rimmed pointed hat. She wore deep olive coloured robes.

Hagrid nodded at her. "The first years, Professor Sinistra."

The lady smiled at Hagrid. "Thank you, Hagrid." She turned to the students. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a moment you will be led through these doors behind me and will be sorted into one of four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Each house has a common room, dorm rooms and will take lessons together. While you are here your house will be like your family. Please respect your housemates and don't cause trouble. Good behaviour will award house points while any rule breaking will lose them. At the end of the year the house with the most points will win the house cup, which will be displayed on the fireplace in the house common room for the following year."

She turned around to glance at the door before turning back. "This room behind me is the great hall. All meals will take place here unless you are eating in the infirmary or the entire house is eating in the common room for some reason. Any notifications will be placed on this board here," she indicated to a large cork board next to the doors "as well as one in your common room. A list of the more important school rules is here. For a full list there is a book in each common room with all the rules in it." she chuckled. "Though I doubt anyone but those of you destined for Ravenclaw will read it."

She glanced back at the door. "If you would all wait here for a moment, I will give you a moment to straighten yourselves out for the sorting." She turned and walked through the double doors.

Immediately after she left the first years they all broke out into whispers. Harry turned to Neville and straitened his robe for him. "Any last thoughts on what the sorting will be?"

Neville, Hermione and Luna shook their heads. Ron Weasley stepped over. "My brother's told me we would have to wrestle a troll."

Neville looked scared so Harry rolled his eyes. "No, I do not believe the teachers would be fool enough to send a group of untrained eleven year olds against any kind of opponent, let alone a troll. I do not know what the sorting will be but I can assure you it will not be anything dangerous. The staff would not risk us being harmed."

Ron flushed slightly and turned away, stepping up against the wall and looking over the crowd. He looked back at them. "What are you doing here anyway? You're not a first year."

They had the attention of most of the first years by now. Harry had a natural air that made people focus on him and listen to what he had to say. Harry raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"

Ron snorted as if it was obvious. "You're not eleven. You're too old to be a first year."

Harry smirked slightly. "Actually, I am eleven years old and starting my first year here."

One of the boys from the crowd stepped up slightly. "Are you Lord Irving?" he spoke hesitantly.

Harry smiled and nodded. "I am indeed. You may call me Harry though, Lord Irving is my official title. I only use it for formal events." He quickly regretted saying that as everyone then crowded round and was talking rapidly to him, asking him questions. Harry backed up slightly and tried not to cover his ears in pain. Loud.

Hid head snapped up when two ghostly figures floated through the wall, pearly white and slightly transparent they glided across the room and hardly glanced at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. The one that looked like a monk was saying "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance."

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know it, he's not really even a ghost" he glanced down at the students. "I say what are you doing here?" This ghost looked Elizabethan. He had ruffles and laces all over his outfit and Harry was sure that had he been in colour it would have been red velvet.

No one answered him.

The Friar beamed. "New students! About to be sorted I suppose?" a few people nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house you know."

Harry tilted his head slightly. This conversation seemed... rehearsed. "If I might ask, sir, who is Peeves?"

The ghost with the ruffles snorted. "Peeves is a poltergeist. He is constantly causing trouble from the staff and students. He especially likes to pick on the first years. The only one who can control him is the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin house ghost. You can easily tell him from the other ghosts so I would suggest avoiding him whenever possible."

Harry and many of the other students nodded then. "Thank you for the warning. I will endeavour to keep an eye out for him."

Just then the teacher stepped back into the room. "Move along now, the sorting is about to take place." The two ghosts waved at the students and floated through the wall into the room beyond. She looked back at the students. "You will be sorted in alphabetical order so if you could arrange yourselves into two lines vaguely in the right order we will head inside." There was shuffling as students arranged themselves into two lines. "Follow me." she turned around and led them through the double doors.

Harry gasped in awe as he looked around the room. He couldn't even think of a word to describe it. It was long, with four tables stretching down the length of it where the rest of the students were sat and a long table across the width of the hall at the far end where the staff sat. Harry noticed offhandedly that the older students had their house colours on their robes while the first years were black. He hoped it wasn't an 'earn your colours' thing, like some kind of initiation challenge for each house.

Hanging above each of the tables were several banners spaced out across the hall with the house crest and name on it. Harry was glad none of them would have to guess which table was which. The walls were adorned with torches again. Harry began to wonder if anyone in the wizarding world had heard of a light bulb.

It was the ceiling, though, that really caught his eye. An endless expanse of shadow and stars. He had never been so thankful of his angel vision as he was when looking at the stars. He had never seen the stars so clearly before his change. He felt very humbled when gazing up at the endless expanse of nothing stretching across the sky. He was so insignificant compared to the vastness of space.

But here, far away from the light pollution of London and other muggle cities, the stars were so bright, so numerous, Harry was sure he would be able to see clearly under their light alone. They filled the space and created intricate patterns and constellations. He loved the stars.

Candles floated in the space where the ceiling should be. He heard Hermione whisper in front of him, "It's charmed to look like the sky outside, I read about it in 'Hogwarts: A history'."

He smirked he had a feeling 'I read it in a book' would be her most commonly used phrase. He looked ahead and spotted a stool in front of the staff table with a tatty old hat on it. Harry smirked. Never judge a book by its cover, that hat was brimming with magic. The new students all stood in their two lines looking around half with nerves and half in awe. Their attention was drawn to the hat when its brim opened and Harry realised the folds made up a face.

He blinked and raised both eyebrows when it started to sing.

'_Oh you may not think I'm pretty but don't judge on what you see, I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me._'

Harry smirked and chuckled as he listened to the rest of the song. It was quite funny and detailed the houses quite well. When it finished the hall broke out into applause. Professor Sinistra stepped back up next to the hat, a roll of parchment in her hand. "When I call your name, come up and sit on this stool, put on the hat and be sorted." She looked down at the scroll and the first years looked between each other nervously.

This was it.

The moment that defined the next _seven years_ of their life.

No turning back now.


	9. Chapter 9

"Abbott, Hannah." A girl at the front of the line took a deep breath and stepped up. She was a pink-faced girl with blond hair held up in pigtails, though the pink on her face could have been from nerves or embarrassment. Harry was secretly glad his name was Irving. Not too close to the start of the alphabet but still within the first half so he wasn't waiting for ages.

Hannah sat on the stool and Professor Sinistra put The Hat on her head. It fell right over her eyes and Harry raised an eyebrow. Who was that hat designed for? They must have had a giant head! It thought for a brief moment before shouting, "Hufflepuff!"

Next up was, "Bello, Bem." who was clearly of African descent. He seemed confidant in himself, he walked with his head high and shoulders back. He moved with the kind of grace you only get when you are confidant in yourself and your abilities. Though he didn't have any of the arrogance that came with overestimating yourself. The Hat didn't hesitate to place him in "Gryffindor!"

Next was "Bones, Susan." Harry wondered if she was related to Madam Bones. They had similar mana and they looked a little alike. Susan was looking around curiously, taking everything in. She would make a fine Auror. The Hat was barely on her head before shouting "Hufflepuff!" Susan grinned and hurried to the Hufflepuff table and sat next to Hannah.

Eventually Professor Vector called out "Crabbe, Vincent." Harry raised an eyebrow. Vincent? Draco had introduced him as Crabbe. Maybe it was a Pure-Blood thing, to refer to people by family name instead of forename. The Hat deliberated for a moment before placing the boy in Slytherin.

A few students later and finally she called out, "Granger, Hermione." Hermione took a deep breath and stepped up to the stool. The hat dropped over her eyes and Harry could see she was clenching her fists into her robes. The hat was silent for a while, the longest yet, before shouting out "Ravenclaw!"

Harry, Neville and Luna applauded the loudest out of all the students as Hermione hopped off the stool and sat at the Ravenclaw table.

Harry took in the house tables while he waited. The Gryffindors were the loudest when a new student was sorted into their house whereas the Slytherins showed a quiet dignity. The Hufflepuffs were warm and the older students tended to clap the first years on the back or a handshake. The Ravenclaws nodded respectfully but otherwise didn't seem to care.

"Irving, Harry." Harry sighed quietly and felt himself relax. They called him Irving instead of Potter. He had been slightly worried they would stick to Potter. He stepped up to the stool and sat down. Professor Sinistra placed the sorting hat on his head and it slipped to halfway down his eyes.

There was a gasp inside his mind. "_A gamer? We haven't had one of you here in a while_."

Harry blinked. "_Hat_?" He thought to the ancient artefact.

"_Yes_." The hat sounded resigned.

Harry smirked. "_Do you have a name you would prefer to go by_?"

If hats could smirk, this one would have. "_Yes. After Godric made me, Salazar named me Alistair_."

Harry smiled. "_Well, Alistair, what do you mean by gamer_?"

The hat hesitated before replying. "_I don't have time to tell you just now. I'll come and see you tonight while the rest of your dorm mates are asleep. For now, I'll sort you... But where to put you? You have all the traits each of the founders look for in students. You are chivalrous, definitely. And brave, but I don't think Gryffindor would suit you, far too much attention there. Definitely not Slytherin either, even though you are cunning and ambitious but don't let that ambition go to your head, which is exactly what Salazar was looking for in his students, you need more comfort and affection than they can offer. You have a thirst for knowledge and are always looking to learn new things, but the other Ravens would question you relentlessly, you wouldn't get a moment of peace._"

Harry smirked. "_Hufflepuff then_?"

The hat chuckled. "_No, not Hufflepuff either. You are loyal and hardworking and Hufflepuff would suit you but the close bonds Hufflepuffs have would be too much for you, you are better in smaller groups. The noise and constant presence would not be good for you right now_._ Plus your unique situation would make living in a dorm difficult._"

Harry felt his face drain of colour. "_Then what now_?"

Harry felt the hat smirk. "_Oh, I know just what to do with you and it would allow you to keep your skills a secret, mostly. Now, where do your strengths lie? Yes, I'll make you a_, HOGWARTS APRENTICE UNDER POPPY POMFREY!" He shouted the last part out loud and Harry winced slightly in pain.

He took the hat off and stared at it. "What is a Hogwarts apprentice?"

The hat smirked. "I will explain after the sorting feast. Take a seat at any of the house tables for now."

Harry shrugged and gave the hat to Professor Sinistra before taking a seat at the Hufflepuff table, taking his swords off and leaning them against the bench when he did so. Once the whispers died down Professor Sinistra continued the sorting.

He smiled and patted "Jones, Megan" on the shoulder as she came to sit next to him. There were two more students before, "Longbottom, Neville!"

Neville braced his shoulders and stepped up to the stool. The hat slid over his eyes and was silent for almost five minutes before calling out "Gryffindor!"

Harry applauded and nodded to his friend as he sat at the lion's table and gave him a bewildered look. Harry mouthed, 'We'll talk later.'

The next student up was "Lovegood, Luna." The hat was barely on her head before calling out "Ravenclaw!"

Harry laughed and applauded as "Rivers, Amy", "Rivers, Oliver", "Roper, Samuel" and then "Runcorn, Alice" were all sorted into Hufflepuff consecutively. He smirked as an older student whispered to her friend. "Four in a row, that's got to be a record."

Harry watched with half a mind as the rest of the students were sorted. Draco Malfoy and both his bodyguards ended up in Slytherin and Ronald Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor. Finally, "Zabini, Blaise" became a Slytherin and Professor Sinistra picked up the sorting hat and the stool before moving to the edge of the staff table and placing them there before taking her seat beside the headmistress.

McGonagall stood up. "Welcome, first years, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And to our older students, welcome home." She looked over them for a second a smiled gently. "There are a few rules to go over before we stuff you all with the feast and you're too tired to listen to me." She paused briefly as some of the students laughed quietly. "The forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students. There are creatures in there that would kill you if you get too close to their territory. There is to be no magic used in the corridors. A list of all contraband items is available in Mr Filch's office." She indicated to a man standing at the side of the hall, holding a cat. He looked rather grouchy. "Any Important notices can be found on the bulletin board inside your common room and outside the great hall. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term, anyone interested in trying out should contact Madam Hooch."

She then turned to the staff table. "We have two new additions to the staff this year. Replacing me as transfiguration teacher we have Professor Stroud." A tall, thin man stood and bowed to the students before taking his seat. "And returning to the staff to take on the position of defence against the dark arts is Professor Quirrel." Another tall man stood and bowed.

Harry immediately felt his hackles rise. This man radiated negative energy. A quick look with his magic revealed him to be a vampire but there was something else. Something about this man had his pulse racing and some kind of instinct screaming at him to run.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He was immune to a vampires bite. He had too much light elemental magic in his blood. He wasn't afraid of vampires. Oliver was a testament to that, the two of them had kept in contact for some reason during the summer. Neither knew why they wanted to stay in contact.

Harry shook his head and turned away from the head table.

McGonagall smiled again. "Now then, without further a due, let the feast begin." She waved her hands in a generic gesture and food appeared on the tables.

Harry looked at the foods. There was a huge variety of different dishes available, though all of them were stereotypically English. Harry carefully placed some of the less greasy meat and some vegetables on his plate. He sat stiffly with his back straight and his head up, looking casually around the hall. He refrained from grimacing when he realised the meat had been overcooked and the vegetables had been boiled to death.

No nutritional value at all.

He knew a normal child his age wouldn't care about the nutritional value of food but since he didn't need to eat anyway and was interested in keeping fit he cared about eating healthily. That meant healthy, nutritious foods. He would have to speak to the ones who cooked the food. It was not good for growing children to be eating food this unhealthy. He bit back his disgust as he spotted Ron Weasley stuffing his face. He had worse manners than Dudley.

He shook his head slightly and looked over the hall. So, the first year Gryffindor boys were Bem Bello, Seamus Finnegan, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas and Ronald Weasley. The girls were Fay Dunbar, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Kellah Miomy, Rionach O'Neal, Julianne Hough and Abby Rivers.

The ravens had Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Stephen Cornfoot, Kevin Entwhistle and Anthony Goldstein for the boys and Su Li, Mandy Brocklehurst, Amanda Hooch, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Morag MacDougal, Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin for the girls.

The Slytherin boys were Vincent Crabbe, Draco Malfoy, Mauricius Vector, Pike Webb (who named their son Pike?), Gregory Goyle, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. The girls were Tracy Davis, Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Lily Moon and Sally Smith.

He looked at the badgers. The boys were Roger Malone, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Ernie Macmillan, Zacharias Smith, Samuel Roper and Oliver Rivers. The girls were Amy Rivers, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Megan Jones, Leanne Rhines, Alice Runcorn, Sally-Anne Perks and Samantha Holden.

A second year turned to him. "Is it true you healed the goblin king?"

Harry smirked. "Yes, but most of the rumours about that have been blown out of proportion. For example, I was taken to the goblin city, I did not fight my way through hoards of enemies nor do I speak goblin. I mentioned to the goblins on guard outside the bank about a special ability of mine and they took me to see the king. By that point they were desperate for anything and anyone to save him. The next in line for the throne, the king's brother, would have killed a large number of goblins and wizards by starting another war. He is dead now. Treason by way of poisoning the king."

Megan gasped. "Poison? His own brother?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. You would be surprised how common it is for royal family to turn on each other for the throne. Not in the muggle world now, but in the past they did. The poison was easy enough to detect with my skills, though normal wizard spells wouldn't have found it and it was created to be undetected by goblin magic. It was not that difficult to find."

Ernie laughed. "Not that difficult he says."

Harry smiled. "Not if you know the right spells. Now, counteracting the poison and healing the damage, that was harder. I nearly completely depleted my magical core doing it but I managed, barely. If he were any sicker, or had the poison done more damage, it would have been nearly impossible for me to heal him. I am sure that if I had some kind of actual training in healing magic I would have done a better job." There was heavy disbelief from those listening in. "No, it's true. I have never had any kind of training. Everything I know is self thought."

Harry laughed quietly as people began bombarding him with questions. He answered them as best he could and was glad he didn't need to eat since he wouldn't have been able to with all the questions being thrown at him. Soon enough people started running out of questions so Harry turned the conversation around and asked the older students what the teachers were like. This gave him an opportunity to finish his dinner and learn more about the staff.

As he listened he sent a gentle mental probe at each of the teachers. Most of them sensed him but he sent them a sense of reassurance and didn't go further than the very outer edge of their mind. He couldn't even hear their thoughts from there but it gave him a feel for their magic and personality. He avoided Quirrel completely. The only teacher of real interest at this point was a teacher in black with straight, black, greasy hair and piercing black eyes.

When Harry's mental probe touched him the man lashed out and Harry pulled back. He gently reached back in and sent a sense of reassurance but the man lashed out again. He huffed quietly and grabbed the man's mental probe as it lashed out and pulled it into the surface of his own mind. '_Calm down, I mean you no harm. I merely wish to know your magic.'_

'_You mean no harm? Stay out of my head!'_

Harry smirked. '_I am not in your head, Professor, you are in mine. I was not going to go deep enough into your mind to read your thoughts or see your memories, only to get a feel for your mind and magic. I do this to everyone I meet._'

Harry felt the teacher growl and let go of the mental probe. He saw the teacher wince slightly, only because he was looking at the man out of the corner of his eye. He sent another probe and this time he felt the man put up some kind of shield. Harry didn't even go as far as the shield, though he could tell the man still felt him in his mind. Harry lingered longer than he should have before moving to the next member of staff.

Aside from Hagrid being a half-giant one of the other professors (Flitwick maybe?) was quarter something... Harry couldn't tell. It was earthy in nature. Similar to a goblin but at the same time, different. He would have to speak to the man some time.

By the time desert rolled around everyone had run out of questions. Harry looked wide eyed at the foods in front of him. Some of these he had never even heard of. The older student laughed. "Never seen desert before?"

Harry chuckled. "I have seen some of these, but not all."

The student nodded. "I'd suggest the treacle tart and the éclairs."

Harry nodded and took a small slice of the treacle tart. He looked over at the sorting hat who, as far as he could tell, was watching the feast with interest. What was the hat thinking, not sorting him properly? Hogwarts Apprentice? He'd never heard of that before. He shrugged mentally. He had only known about the wizarding world for a little over a month. He could hardly claim to know much about it.

He looked back at his housemates when one of them asked, "Wasn't Harry Potter supposed to be in our year group? Wonder why he's not here."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "Considering what happened? And that is only what the papers were allowed to publish, there was a lot that was held back from what I could tell from the articles." It had been strange reading about the trials from an outsider's point of view. He had been thankful that Madam Bones had kept as much out as she had.

Justin nodded. "He's probably got some private tutors. After what Dumbledore did to him, I wouldn't want to come here either. In fact, I'd be surprised if he didn't end up in a hospital or something. The reporter wrote about him being so tiny and fragile. I'm not surprised if he did go three years without food. How did he survive?"

Susan shook her head. "My Aunty works at the DMLE. She was the one Potter went to for help. Apparently his magic had been keeping him alive the whole time. If he wasn't such a powerful wizard then he would have died years ago. And yeah, he probably is being privately tutored. If I were him I would want to stay hidden away from everyone too. I wouldn't be able to handle big crowds."

Everyone nodded and Harry shook his head. "Let's not talk about this. It'll only upset us. He's in a better place now, recovering, healing and overcoming his past. He won't have to see the Dursleys ever again and Dumbledore is in a closed, secure ward at St Mungo's where he won't be able to hurt anyone else ever again."

Zacharias shook his head. "I can't believe they let him get away with what he did. He should have been in Azkaban at least. And we only know a bit of it since we only know what was on the paper, they mentioned there were a lot more charges they weren't allowed to print."

Susan shook her head. "They had a mind healer come and look at him. He's suffering from a mental disorder. He can't see the world the same way he should anymore. He still thinks we're in the middle of a war. Despite putting through a number of laws he still acts like things are the same as they were during the war against Grindelwald. He's stuck in the past. I'm not surprised, he's over a hundred and ten at least, even by wizard standards that's really old. He should have been taken down from his positions of authority years ago."

One of the older students looked at Susan. "You know an awful lot about this."

Susan nodded. "My Aunty was one of the main people in the case, she was the one asking all the questions and looking after Potter during the trial."

The seventh year who had sat at this end of the table tilted his head. "So did you meet Potter then?"

Susan shook her head. "No, I was at home. But get this, In Lily Potter's will she named Aunty Amelia as one of the people who were supposed to take care of Harry. We could have grown up together, like cousins or something."

Harry looked at her. That's right, Amelia Bones was listed in his mother's will as one on the people to take him in if anything should happen to them. "Did she know?"

Susan turned to him and stared for a moment, looking for something in his eyes. "No. She didn't know. She only found out when the trial started and she was allowed to see the will."

Harry sighed. "Then perhaps Potter would have had a normal childhood, had Dumbledore not intervened." Harry made a mental note to get to know this girl. If they would have grown up together he would like to know the girl that would have been his cousin. She seemed nice so far.

Soon enough the feast ended and the students were dismissed. Harry hung back with most of the staff while the other students shuffled out.

The four heads of house left with a promise to be informed later. Harry and the rest of the staff looked at the hat. Harry sighed quietly. "So Alistair, what is a Hogwarts apprentice?"

It smirked. "Occasionally, we get a student who has all of the traits that the four founders are looking for. Someone who is equally suited to all four houses. Most of the time I can sort them into one of the four based on their skills, family history or some other factor. But once in a while, I will find a student I cannot sort into a house. This is usually because the student possesses talents that far outstrips the other first years, such as you, though that is not the only reason. When that happens they become a Hogwarts Apprentice."

The headmistress nodded. "I see. And what does a Hogwarts apprentice do? How do they differ from a normal student?"

"Well, a Hogwarts apprentice has their own rooms, instead of sharing a dorm. They are allowed into any of the house common rooms if someone invites them in. The biggest change is that instead of attending classes with their year mates right away, they will have an evaluation by each of the teachers to determine their level of skill and will either attend lessons with the appropriate year group or have private lessons with the teacher. Each apprentice also has a specific member of staff assigned to them, like the other students have a head of house. In Mr Irving's case, that would be Madam Pomfrey. She would teach him her skills in private lessons, like an apprenticeship."

Poppy nodded. "Well, that certainly makes sense, though I'd be surprised if he doesn't end up teaching me a thing or two."

Harry blushed at the attention and shook his head.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Alright then. Where are his rooms?"

The hat thought for a moment. "Behind the portrait of Healer Sage, on the same corridor as the infirmary. I believe Mr Irving will recognise her."

McGonagall nodded again. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

The hat nodded as best a hot could. "A few things. One of the main reasons I sorted Mr Irving as a Hogwarts apprentice is because he is emancipated and therefore a legal adult."

Madam Pomfrey looked at him. "You're emancipated? Why?"

Harry sighed. "Well, you all know the name I was born with, right? Hagrid told you?"

There was some nodding. Madam Pomfrey spoke for them. "Harry Potter, right?"

Harry nodded. "I couldn't live with the Dursleys anymore but I'm too mature to be adopted by anyone. While I may physically be a child, I am not one. I have had to grow up faster than anyone else should ever have to. I am fully capable of looking after myself like any adult can. I don't need someone to take care of me like anyone else my age does, unless I'm ill or something."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Yes, everyone needs someone to look after them when they're ill. Are the rumours about you going three years without food true?"

Harry sighed heavily and looked down. "Unfortunately, yes. The Dursleys starved me, I would go weeks at a time without anything to eat and what I did get was not enough to feed a baby bird."

Poppy gasped. "How did you survive?"

Harry sighed again. "The sad truth of it is that I nearly didn't. I had to steal food to survive but I was beaten whenever I did. At first it was worth it to keep on living but after a while, I began to wonder if life was worth living. I was close to giving up when I found someone who told me that my life was worth something. He taught me to keep fighting, to keep living. He taught me that dying is pointless." He smirked sadly. "He told me 'Every life has value just in being born.' And 'Once you die, that's the end. You can die at any time but what would you gain by dying? Nothing. There is no meaning in dying.'" He gave a dry humorous laugh. "What kind of lesson is that for a five year old to learn?"

There were some sad noises amongst the teachers.

Harry gave a slight smile. "It's in the past now. Besides, when I was eight it got to the point where I did some accidental magic and I..." he hesitated a moment, "changed so I don't need food anymore. I can still taste and I can eat if I want to I just won't starve to death."

Poppy nodded. "I see. So that's why you look so healthy."

Harry nodded. "Yes."

McGonagall took a deep, steadying breath. "Harry... I'm so sorry. I _told_ him not to put you there. I _told_ him they were the worst kind of muggles. I should have _done something_. I'm so sorry."

Harry shook his head. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. What's past has passed and there is nothing we can do to change it. Please, don't worry yourself. I'm fine now and I never have to worry about them again."

She sighed. "I suppose you're right. Now, shall we go and find your rooms then?"

"Just a moment." Alistair spoke up. "There is one more thing you need to know." Everyone looked at him. "The last of the main reasons I sorted Mr Irving as a Hogwarts Apprentice is that he is a rank six mage."

Harry tilted his head in confusion as the staff broke out in whispers and cries of disbelief. "I don't know what that is."

McGonagall looked at him for a moment. "There are three classes of magicals, Mr Irving. The regular witch or wizard, a mage and then an arch mage. There has only ever been one arch mage in existence. Merlin himself."

The professor then went on a long lecture about mages.

A mage was a wizard who had suffered from some kind of magical trauma which caused a tear in their magical core while they were still young enough to survive the event and their magic flexible enough to adapt and survive the tear. If their magic was not flexible enough it would leave them a squib. This trauma opened up their magical core so that their magic could flow freely around their body and magical core while a normal wizard's magic is contained only in their core. This didn't mean that all mages could do wandless magic though. If anything, wandless magic was harder for them since their magic was so much stronger.

With their magic flowing around their body, a mage was generally faster, stronger and tougher than your average human. They healed faster, were harder to bruise and could survive falls or attacks that would kill most other humans. Much like a Hero in a game.

Unfortunately, this meant that if they used up a lot of their magic they would lose these boosts, making them feel slow and weak.

A Mage's level was measured not by their magical strength or by the size of their magical core, but by how much of their magic was flowing freely around their bodies and the degree to which their core had been opened. There are exactly nine levels with one being the lowest and nine being the highest.

Once a mage had been awakened any further trauma would cause the magic to increase, however, since the mage's magic was flowing through their body as well as in their core this meant that any kind of physical trauma would increase their level. An increase in level means that a mage's core had more tears in it and more of their magic was flowing around their body.

Harry's core was opened the night Voldemort failed to kill him with the killing curse, thus making him a level one mage. The subsequent neglect at the Dursleys then put him at level two, combined with the physical abuse set him at level three. When he started training with magic and using his magic in a way it never should have been he accidentally set himself as level four. When he released Dumbledore's spells it caused a magical backlash that raised him at level five. The subsequent years of training and his burst of accidental magic when he was eight putting him squarely at level six.

If Dumbledore had not placed all the binds and spells on Harry's magic then he would have only been a level three mage right now, the Dursleys putting him at level two and his training and accidental magic leaving him at level three.

Unfortunately for Harry this meant that learning spells would be a lot harder and he would simply be unable to learn a number of lower level spells they teach to first years until he had a better grasp of his magic and could control it better. He would be receiving his Hogwarts education almost in reverse, starting with the harder spells and moving onto the easier ones.

Once McGonagall had made sure Harry understood what a mage was, she allowed Madam Pomfrey to take Harry upstairs to the hospital wing to do some scans and tests. She huffed and tutted before adding the last month of training to his medical record, which St Mungo's had forwarded to her as they did with all first year students.

They then looked down the corridor for Harry's rooms. They didn't have to go far as Harry spotted them immediately. He stood outside the portrait and gaped. Madam Pomfrey nodded. "I suppose you're Healer Sage?"

The woman in the portrait nodded, her silver hair swaying gracefully about her shoulders. "I am. Am I to take it this is Harry Irving?" she gave Harry a speculative look.

Harry swallowed hard and took a few steadying breaths. The two women smiled knowingly down at him until a horse whisper caused the painting to jerk backward within her frame in shock. "Professor Raine?"


	10. Chapter 10

If any of you have any questions about anything in my story, "Why does this character do that?" "Who is that character?" "How come he can do that?" "How does that concept work?" just let me know and I will answer your questions at the start of the next chapter, or PM you if you prefer.

**Ddragon**: _Are there OC's? Because I don't recognise some of the names._

No, all the characters in Harry's year are all in his year in the books, movies and any of the many games. Example, Bem Bello is featured in the third movie talking about the grim during divination class. His name is featured in the credits I think...

As for any students in other year groups,

_All characters featured within this story are purely fictional. Any relation to any persons living or deed is purely coincidental. I own none of the characters features within this story. All rights reserved to their respective owners._

The woman in the portrait smiled sadly down at Harry for a moment before nodding. "That's right. Why don't you come inside and we can talk." The portrait swung open and Harry stepped around it into a short corridor, no longer than a few paces. The door swung shut behind him and head heard Raine say "I need to speak to him alone. Passwords and such, you understand." There was the sound of someone walking which was abruptly cut off followed by Madam Pomfrey's indignant spluttering before more footsteps.

Harry walked into the main room and gasped as he looked around in awe. The wall opposite him was one big window, looking out over the grounds. There were red drapes across the window that could be pulled across if he wanted to. In the back right-hand corner there was a spiral staircase going down. To his left there was a fireplace with another portrait of Professor Sage smiling down at him framed above it. On the far side of the left wall was a closed door. The right hand wall had two doors leading off from it, both closed.

In front of the fireplace was a large comfy couch and a plush armchair, both a deep reddish-brown. There was a brown fluffy blanket thrown over the back of the sofa and several bright red cushions. There was a fuzzy, pale brown rug on the floor around the fireplace and seating that Harry knew would be lovely on bare feet. There were a few more portraits around the room, each depicting a different landscape. A couple of empty bookshelves lined the corner just to his left. There was a silver light fixture on the ceiling that spread out like ivy, illuminating the room in a soft glow.

Harry grinned at the sight of the computer between the two doors on the right hand wall. He stepped over to it and couldn't help but compare it to the ones the Desians had in their ranches.

He looked back over to Raine and tilted his head, coming over to sit on the couch. She sighed and sat on the chair in her portrait. "You recognise me?"

Harry nodded. "You're a character in the game, Tales of Symphonia."

Raine sighed. "I see, and that's where you got the name Irving from? Alistair did mention... well, welcome to your rooms. The door on this wall leads to your bedroom and bathroom. That door their leads to a kitchen, the other door leads to a study. There are large bookcases and a big desk with everything you might need. Downstairs you will find your training room. It can only be accessed by this room and is soundproof and completely protected against any damage you might do to it. There is an instruction booklet inside on how to use the special functions it provides."

Harry nodded. "Alright. So, you know about my special abilities?"

Raine nodded. "Yes. The Sorting Hat had imformed us of some of the information it learned from you. Not all, mind, just enough to keep us informed but not enough to breach your privacy. We won't tell anyone though. Since you recognised me you will recognise the other people in the portraits. They will be here in the morning, they are elsewhere for now. I suggest you get a feel for the layout of the room and make yourself at home. You will be living here, bar the holidays, for the next seven years."

Harry nodded and Raine stepped out of her portrait and disappeared. He sighed and looked around the room for a while, placing his belongings in places around the room. He smiled at the perches he found in the bedroom and when Hedwig fluttered in she had him placing them _just so_ in each room. Harry chuckled quietly as she spent a good ten minutes ordering him to 'move that this way' or 'turn it that way a bit' before he was allowed to place the next one.

Finally she flew to his bedroom and settled down in the nest box on the wall. It was more comfortable for sleeping for long periods of time than a perch.

She glared at Harry when he started putting some items around the bedroom but otherwise ignored him. He found the huge walk in wardrobe a bit much but at least none of his clothes would get wrinkled. When he was finished with the bedroom he went back into the sitting room and sat down on the couch before looking the room over again. It looked much better now, with a much homier feel to it. It felt lived in despite him only being here about an hour. Harry sat up straight when a small creature popped into existence in front of him and placed the sorting hat on the couch beside him before popping out again. Harry looked at the empty space for a minute. "That was a house-elf?"

The hat nodded. "Yes. Now then, I believe you have some questions for me?"

Harry nodded hesitantly. "Um... yeah." he shook his head. "Yes. I have some questions. What did you mean by 'gamer' when you were sorting me?"

The hat chuckled. "Every child plays games. Some children have more of an imagination than others. But occasionally, I will find someone who has changed who or what they are based on a game. You have initiated the angel transformation from your game, thus giving you skills and abilities no one else would have otherwise."

Harry tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

The hat sighed. "Your mana for a start. No one else will be able to use their mana for magic without killing themselves, but you can simply because you believed you could. Your magic made it a possibility. As a gamer, you have abilities normal humans don't. Even in your genetics, you're not human anymore. You're an angel, and any children you have will be half angels."

Harry sighed. "Alright. Something else to set me apart." He paused for a moment. "Um... Alistair? You know I started the angel transformation... do you know if I..." he bit his lip and looked down. "Do you know if I'm immortal?"

If the hat had an eyebrow it would have raised it. "Immortal?"

Harry sighed. "Immortal, not invulnerable. I can still be killed, I can still die by poison or disease but... in Symphonia the angels that inspired my transformation were immortal. They didn't age. Three of them were over four thousand years old, two looked in their mid twenties and one looked twelve."

The hat hummed. "I don't know. I only know what you do. Only time will tell."

Harry sighed. "If I am, then it wouldn't be a good idea to get too close to anyone."

"And if you are not, then you'll be setting yourself up for a very lonely life."

Harry looked up at the man in the portrait that had just walked in. "Regal!"

The bluenett smiled down at him. "Good evening, Mr Irving. I trust you are happy with your rooms?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I haven't done the study yet but I'm going to do that in a minute."

The duke nodded. "I see. There are already some books and such in there from the last person who lived here. He left them there for the next person, that being you. I am sure you will find them to be useful and informative. Now, as we know you have some basic knowledge of us and our skills, my companions and I are willing to help you train. We have some portraits downstairs that are charmed to prevent them being damaged. I will be training you in my fighting style, if only to help you with speed and stamina as well as strengthen your leg muscles."

Harry nodded. "Thank you, Regal. I have done some training but I am sure I've done it wrong."

Regal smiled. "That is why I am here."

Harry smiled. There was a deep chuckle that somehow sounded familiar from behind him. Harry turned and saw a man in his late thirties looking down from a portrait. He had hair blacker than night, framing his face in a short fringe and held in a low ponytail that fell at least to his waist, where the portrait cut off. His eyes were a piercing emerald green that seemed to hold Harry in place as if judging the worth of his soul. He held himself high, confidant and sure. His features spoke of noble blood but he somehow gave off a wild, untamed look while still being regal and refined.

He wore a green silk dress shirt and black trousers with a silver robe over the top. The tip of two sword hits could be seen attached to his waist and a silver locket hung around his neck.

The man chuckled again. "Hello, little one."

Harry smiled slightly, feeling self-conscious in front of this man and not knowing why. "Hello."

The man laughed quietly. "No need to be so shy, little one. My name is Salazar Slytherin. Might you be the young Irving?"

Harry's eyes bugged out of his head and the man laughed again. Harry stood and bowed. "It is an honour to meet you, Lord Slytherin. Yes, I am Harry Irving."

The man smiled. "You need not be so formal. You may call me Salazar, or Sal if you prefer. Though Godric calls me Zar for some reason..."

Harry blinked. From what he'd read of the man he was a Pure-Blood idealist who hated pretty much everyone. That was not this man.

Salazar chuckled. "No need to look so confused, it's been a thousand years since my friends and I built the castle, history was bound to distort things after a while. This portrait is for all four of us, so we'll be popping in from time to time. As we speak the house elves are putting a portrait of the four of us up in the great hall so we will be able to see all the students and in the staff room so we can participate in staff meetings. The others are in their common rooms at the moment. I left early because my house is full of arrogant dicks."

Harry stared wide eyed. "What?"

Salazar raised both hands in the air. "I know right! They were bullying some of the first years! They're all 'you shouldn't be in this house, filthy Half-Blood!', and 'Go back where you're wanted filthy mudblood scum!' and then I'm like 'Oi, I'm a Half-Blood!' then they're like 'Who the hell are you?' and I'm like 'I'm Salazar Slytherin!' and they're like 'No way! Slytherin wasn't a Half-Blood!' and I'm like 'Bitch please, you don't know me!' and-"

"SALAZAR!" Salazar froze and stared down at the sorting hat. "No swearing in front of the children!"

Salazar bit his lip and looked down. "Yes Alistair. Sorry Alistair. Sorry Harry..."

Harry blinked a few times and shook his head slightly. "That's fine... the barkeep at the village I live near says worse..."

Salazar grinned and bounced on his feet (or, Harry assumed he did as he couldn't see below the man's waist) and clapped his hands together once, pointing his index fingers upwards and curling the others over. "Excellent. Now, there's a bunch of stuff we have to cover before your education here at Hogwarts can begin. The first of which is you being a mage, McGonagall explained what a mage is yes?"

Harry nodded. "Yes. She did."

Salazar nodded and suddenly became serious. "Excellent. Now, while a normal wizard doesn't have to worry about this, you do. Every being in the world has a physical and a spiritual energy. Physical energy is determined by your body and health. You call this energy 'Mana'. Spiritual energy can be determined by a lot of things; strength of will, strength of character, bloodlines, things like that. You call this energy 'Magic'. A witch and wizard are just someone whose spiritual energy has become potent enough to mutate into a force that can affect the physical world around them."

Harry nodded. "Right." he already knew most of that, though the last part was kind of new.

Salazar nodded. "Now, a normal wizard doesn't need to worry about their physical energy since the two are separate. You, on the other hand, do. You are a mage so your spiritual energy is flowing around you body as well as in you core. This means that the more balanced your mana and magic are, the better control you will have over your magic. The occupants of these portraits will all be helping you in one way or another to develop your mana and magic."

"How long will it be before I have enough control to do the first year spells?" Harry asked.

Salazar tilted his head. "It's hard to say. Regal will be helping you with physical exercise. Myself, Godric and Lloyd will be teaching you how to use dual swords since the three of us all use them. Rowena, Helga, Sheena and Presea will be teaching you stretches to increase your flexibility. All of us will be helping you out in one way or another over the next seven years. But before we can even begin to teach you anything, we need to get your mana to a better standard. You will need to eat three, full, healthy meals every day and sleep at least six hours every night, more if you can."

Harry frowned. "I don't-"

Salazar held up a hand. "I know you don't _need_ to eat or sleep anymore to survive but you not doing so is detrimental to your mana. So, you are going to go into that kitchen, eat what the house elves had laid out for you and then go to bed."

Harry raised both eyebrows at the Slytherin founder. Did this man have multiple personalities or something? One minute he's acting like a nobleman, then he's a teenage girl gossiping with her friends, then he's a chastised child, then an over exited child, then he's all serious and then he's a total mother hen! He voiced this out loud. Salazar spluttered indignantly for a moment before huffing and stalking out of his frame. Harry sighed and looked at the hat who sighed.

"Yes, he's always like this. He is right though. About your mana and your physical health. Your magic is keeping you alive. You would be much better off if you gave your body some actual fuel."

Harry sighed and stood up. He glanced up and realised Regal had left his portrait at some point and looked back down at the hat. "Alright. You all know better than me."

Alistair nodded. "Good. It was nice to meet you, Mr Irving. I look forward to seeing you again." A house-elf popped into the room and popped back out with the hat. Harry shrugged and walked into the kitchen. There was a bowl of chopped fruit, a bowl of soup, some buttered bread rolls, a plate with some slices of chicken and some cooked vegetables.

Harry sighed and sat down. Surprisingly the food was quite light and he was able to eat it all without feeling like he was stuffed full. The chicken was moist enough that he didn't need gravy with it and the soup was a flavour he had never tasted before. It was kind of spicy.

He walked into the bedroom and regretted not owning pyjamas. He shrugged and stripped down before climbing into bed. The sheets we warm and the bed was super comfy. Harry sighed and closed his eyes.

Something poked him in the head.

He opened his eyes and glared at the house-elf. It glared back. "Get up or you's be late for first day." it popped away.

Harry frowned and sat up, looking at the clock on his bedside table. He was surprised to see it was already six o'clock. Had he really been asleep that long? It felt like he had only just gotten to bed. He slid out of bed and got dressed before attaching his sword to his waist and tilting his head as Hedwig flew down to his shoulder. He stepped out into the main room and stopped to look at each of the portraits around the room. He recognised Lloyd, Genis, Raine, Colette, Sheena, Regal, Presea, Zelos and Salazar.

In the portrait with Salazar were three people he didn't recognise. They all looked somewhere in their late thirties like Salazar.

The first was a man, taller than Salazar was, with broader shoulders. He had red-brown hair that fell to his shoulders in a wild mane, partly obscuring one half of his face. He had a large grin on his face and a scar on his right cheek from the cheekbone to the base of his ear. He had large muscles clearly visible through his clothes. Harry could now see why girls blushed so often when they saw him, and he didn't hold a candle to this man. He was wearing a black shirt and trousers with a red robe over it with gold lining and buttons. Like Salazar there were two sword hilts poking out of his robe at his waist. There was a ruby encrusted sword slung across his back.

Standing beside the two men were two women. One was tall and slim with a very curvy figure, though her chest wasn't as large as Sheena's. She had short, cropped pink hair with a silver, diamond tiara shaped like a raven taking flight perched on her head. She wore a beautiful, tight fitting blue dress with a bronze belt and bronze detail across the bodice. She had bronze forearm guards on both arms and was more muscular than he was expecting a woman to be. There was a charm bracelet on her right wrist with only a single charm on it. She had a neutral, uncaring expression on her face, her pink eyes more expressive as she looked at him.

A stark contrast to the other woman. She was shorter than the others by about a foot, though Harry couldn't really tell in a painting. She had golden blond hair pulled into a messy bun and fastened with a gold hair clip with yellow gems and a badger shape in the middle made of white and black gemstones. She was smiling gently down at Harry and closed her cerulean blue eyes as she grinned and waved. She wore white robes with a yellow trim and had a gold necklace with a pink gem in it around her neck. Dangling from each ear was a small hoop earring.

Harry smiled and walked further into the room. "Good morning."

Salazar grinned. "Ah, the man of the hour finally wakes! You were out like a light last night. Your house-elf almost couldn't wake you up this morning, had to resort to a bit of magic and poking you in the face. Right annoyed she was." Harry glanced at the house-elf, who was standing leaning against the kitchen doorframe with her arms crossed. "Her name is Mint. She has been assigned to you and will be helping you. Her duties are to clean your clothes, bed sheets and rooms as well as cook all of your meals according to our specifications. Normally you would have a heavier dinner than last night but since you were eating so late we didn't want to give you too much."

Harry nodded. "That makes sense."

Salazar grinned. "Now, time to get started for today. Under the new headmistress the students have the first week off of school to allow the first years time to get to know the layout of the castle and allow the older students time to catch up with their friends so they don't disrupt classes by chatting. This gives us plenty of time to work with you before you start actual classes. We already have part of your schedule worked out. In the mornings you will be doing work with Regal Monday, Wednesday and Friday and work with the girls Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for an hour and a half. On Sunday you will be working with both of them for an hour each. Then Monday through to Saturday you will run on the grounds for half an hour before coming back here for breakfast, since you might want to shower first."

Harry nodded. He had no intention of sitting in sweaty clothes while eating. He picked up the sheet of paper off the table (the only thing out of place from last night) and found it to be his time table. The only things filled in were the mornings before breakfast and evenings after dinner.

Salazar smiled. "Since it won't take you an hour to eat you are free to go to the great hall after eating to sit and socialise with your friends. Monday to Friday you will have lessons with your teachers between nine and twelve, then again from one to five thirty, although your lessons won't fill in all the space, you will have free periods during the day. Dinner is at six. From seven to eight on Monday Wednesday and Friday you will have healing magic lessons with Raine and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday you will have Offensive magic lessons with Genis. On Sunday you will have a review of all the spells you learned that week as well as covering anything you have had trouble with. Lloyd, Godric and I will then have you for two hours for swordsmanship. You then have an hour to do as you please before bed, except on a Wednesday as you will be attending astronomy lessons with the first years so you will have more free time and be going to bed at one in the morning. You will still be getting up at six the next day though."

Harry sighed and nodded. He had already read that from the timetable. He was thankful he didn't need to sleep or he would be exhausted Thursday otherwise.

Salazar looked almost sadly down at him. "We can negotiate what to do on the weekend each week but you will be doing work as well as socialising. You cannot keep yourself away from everyone on the slight chance that you won't die of old age." Harry looked up and locked eyes with the founder. "We won't let you isolate yourself even if we have to invite your friends here ourselves. You need to socialise."

Harry sighed heavily and nodded. Truth be told, the reason he didn't want to get close to anyone was because he was afraid of being hurt. He once cared about the Dursleys but they hurt him so much they killed what small amount of love he had ever had for them. Honestly, he was surprised they told him he was related to them at all. He thought they would prefer to ignore any relation to him instead of having him call them Aunt and Uncle.

Another reason was simply because he didn't know how to handle people. He had been on his own his whole life, caring for himself, trusting no one. Now, there were kids his own age who wanted to be friends. He had no idea what to do. He'd never had anyone show an interest in him before so now that there were people who honestly wanted to know him, for no reason other than being friends, it was overwhelming and confusing.

He took another deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "I don't know how to socialise. I've never spoken to anyone just for the sake of a conversation before. While I lived with the Dursleys, other than getting orders from them, the longest conversation I ever had was when I broke a boy's arm and went to the hospital with him and spoke to the police to assure them I wasn't beating him up. I don't know how to have friends."

Lloyd and Colette smiled at him. The blond chosen clasped both hands in front of her chest. "Don't worry, Harry. We'll teach you."

Lloyd grinned. "Yeah. Don't worry about it."

Harry sighed and smiled. "Thanks."

Zelos tipped his head to one side. "Actually bud, I think this might be something I can do." Everyone looked to him in confusion. "Well, before I met you guys I didn't have any friends. I'd only met Sheena shortly before Colette's birthday. All the ladies I hung around with weren't friends. They were a distraction from my everyday life and the pressure that came with being the chosen. Since I met you guys you taught me how to trust and be trusted. You taught me how to _be_ a friend as well as how to get friends. I can relate to Harry better than any of you guys."

Harry blinked and looked up at Zelos. That was... deep. He had never really put much thought into Zelos before. He considered him an arrogant snob who needed to learn how to treat a woman properly. A spoiled prince who couldn't see the world for what it was.

Zelos looked down at him. "You don't really go into my background and history in the game so most people judge me on what you see on the storyline and skits. Not many people play the extra scenes or go into my back story, especially when there are more interesting stories partly revealed in the story, like Sheena's or Regal's and Presea's."

Harry nodded. "Yeah... sorry Zelos."

The redhead smiled. "Hey, it's fine. Don't worry about it. The game portrays me as the kind of character you think you know and don't bother to look deeper into. Everyone looks at the little angel like she's a happy, innocent and naive little girl but actually she's got a mask as strong as I do. She pretends to be happy even when she feels like she's dying inside."

Harry nodded. "No one is as two dimensional as a game character. Everyone has a hidden depth."

Zelos nodded. "Exactly. You an' me are gonna sit and have a few talks whenever you need them. I'll help you make friends. 'Cus trust me, it is way better than being surrounded by people you see every day who aren't your friends."

Harry smiled slightly. "Thanks Zelos."

The chosen grinned chuckled slightly. "No problem kid. Now, how about you get some food and get ready to meet your other teachers? They still need to test you and sort out when you get what lessons."

Harry nodded and, after a quick glance at the other portraits, headed into the kitchen. There was a large, healthy selection of foods on the table and Harry sat down, selecting a small portion of each. Mint hopped onto a chair and looked over his plate. "More fruit and bread things."

Harry looked at her as she slid a sheet of paper towards him. "What's this?" he asked, looking it over.

"Is a meal chart. You be needing lots of protein and carbohydrates for lots of energy and you is needing lots of vitamins from fruits and vegetables. You be needing a healthy, balanced diet."

Harry looked at the little elf, who was now glaring at him, and sighed. He put more fruits on his plate along with another slice of toast, a waffle and a pancake. He had never tried any of these before. The only food he'd eaten in the past three years was the bacon and eggs he'd had for breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, and then the sausage and mash that Hagrid had drugged. He hadn't had a wide variety of foods to eat before then either. At most he would have a stale piece of bread of if he was lucky, a bit of mouldy cheese.

Harry was thankful he could still taste. The food was so good.

By the time he had eaten enough to satisfy Mint it was almost six forty-five. He offered to help with the dishes and got glared at in return so he took the offer back and retreated out of the kitchen. He sighed and looked into the amused faces of the portraits. "She's a scary one. Are all house-elves like that?"

Godric shook his head. "No, that's why we chose her. All the other ones are more..." he looked at Salazar.

"Subservient."

"Yeah that. House-elves live to serve so they usually just do anything they're told... even if they know it's wrong or if it could lead to them being killed..." there was a short silence as the four founders looked sad for a moment. Godric shook his head. "Mint is different. She's got more will, more bite. Her blunt nature and determination is the reason we chose her. She's strong and will make sure you don't slack in your meals or sleep. She won't let you get out of it like other house-elves would."

Harry sighed. "Right... I suppose that makes sense."

Godric nodded. "Anyway, we've still got ages yet before you meet your teachers so why don't you have a look around the study and read a bit of your school books? Should make the time pass quicker."

Harry nodded and stood up. "Alright. I haven't looked in the study yet." He walked over and opened the study door, stepping in and flicking on the light. He froze. The room was huge. All four walls lined with empty bookcases and a few stand alone book cases in the middle of the room making it look more like a library than a study. There was a flip top desk in the middle of the room with a chest of draws more suited for a bedroom beside it. Harry walked over and pulled each of the draws out in turn. The top one held various different quills, Ink bottles, paints, paintbrushes, some kind of glue stuff and a bunch of tools Harry couldn't even begin to name.

The second and third draw held parchment. The fourth different size sheets of paper and some leather Harry guessed could be used for binding a book or something. The fifth was charmed expandable and held different size canvases and an easel. The bottom draw was empty but had a rack he lifted up that had many different compartments. Harry guessed he could use it as a filing cabinet.

He stood up and sat on the chair in front of the desk and lifted the top. There was a book and a sheet of paper in the front and centre of the desk. He pulled the draw out and found two quills and two bottles of ink, one black and one red.

There were some shallow shelves Harry guessed were for organising things on the desk. He picked up the sheet of paper and opened it up.

_Welcome, new Hogwarts Apprentice._

_I am writing this the day before the leaving feast of my last year here at Hogwarts. I'm going to try and get a job in warding. Won't be too hard for me, it was the reason I was sorted the way I was._

_I have some advice for you as well as instructions._

_The first bit of advice I have, ties in with the instructions. Every Hogwarts apprentice has kept a journal and left some books on their speciality on the shelves here. The journals are on one of the bookcases at the back. It shouldn't be too hard for you to find._

Harry looked over the top of the desk and found only one of the bookcases on the back wall with any books on it, though he couldn't see it well from this angle. He looked back down at the letter.

_Another bookcase here in the study is dedicated to books on our speciality. It is over to the right, next to the journals. When it is your time to leave, please, leave a book on your speciality here for the next apprentice._

_My next bit of advice is to let people into these rooms. Don't shut yourself off from the rest of the students. Make friends and bring them back here. If you ask her, the school will give you a spare room so if any of your friends need to stay the night here for any reason they will have somewhere to sleep. I have a friend a year younger than me who is relentlessly bullied by her dorm mates. She's been sleeping here since her first year. The castle has agreed to allow her to stay here next year so she'll be safe._

_Another bit of advice, don't rub your status in anyone's face. It won't help and you don't have many more privileges than the other students. Trust me. It won't end well._

_Next; Don't ask about Slytherin's behaviour. Ever. It will only upset him and the other founders. Just don't ask. Don't call him evil either. Forget everything you've read about him._

_Third, Study! Just because you get private lessons with the teachers doesn't mean you get out of studying. If you want to pass your exams, you need to put in the effort! The teachers aren't going to hold your hand throughout your education. If anything, you will have it harder than your year mates since you are deemed to be 'Too advanced for a first year'. Study hard, you'll be under more pressure than anyone else._

_Fourth, just because you are a Hogwarts Apprentice doesn't mean you cannot ask for help. If you need anything, go to a teacher. It is their job to help you. That is what they are here for._

_Fifth, Make sure you schedule a study time each week and don't skip out on it. You will be expected to do homework just like everyone else so you will need this time. If you get it established now and don't skip out on it, it will be easier to have the time to study when exams roll around and you won't feel so pressured. Trust me._

_Now, instructions. Other than leaving a book, you will need to take care of all the books that are here. The empty shelves are for your use, put what books you like on them and you are free to take them home, but please don't take any books you found here. They are here for future Apprentices._

_Obey all the school rules. That should be obvious. This book you will find with the letter is a copy of all the rules as well as the Hogwarts charter. Use it to your advantage but make sure to follow the rules. If any rules change, the book will too. It is self updating, though the charter can't be changed._

Harry looked at the book. '_Hogwarts rules and charter, a student's guide to surviving teachers.'_ Harry thought the book was a good idea and wondered if the other students were given a copy, or at least each house have a few copies for students to read.

He turned back to the letter.

_Take care of the rooms. You will have to pay for any damage you do to them and these rooms don't come cheap. The apprentice before me blew a wall up with an experimental potion. It bankrupt his parent's to pay for the repairs. They were very upset. (Understatement)_

_Attend all your classes (again, obvious)._

_I can't think of anything else to add at the moment. If I think of something before I leave, I'll put it down. For now, I bid you good luck and welcome to Hogwarts. The school will be happy to have you._

_Finally free, Alexander Romanov. Rank 2 mage. Wards specialist. Hogwarts apprentice, graduate 1741._

Huh... the last apprentice was two hundred and fifty years ago. Harry smiled and put the letter down before looking through the rules book. A quick glance told him the book was a lot larger on the inside than it gave the appearance of on the outside. He slipped it into a pocket, promising to read it throughout the day. He put the letter towards the back of the desk and went to examine the bookcases. The journals were arranged by year of sorting, only seven of them actually had a year on them, 1991 being the last, which made Harry the seventh Hogwarts apprentice. The rest of them were all blank. They all seemed the same size so Harry assumed they were bigger on the inside too. The shelf with the other books was more interesting.

The books were arranged alphabetically by topic, and then alphabetically by author within each topic. Harry beamed when he saw a few books on wood carving. He picked them up and brought them over to the sitting room, neatly stacking them on the table. Looking at the clock on the mantle Harry realised he still had a little over an hour left and pulled out the rule book.

Might as well know the rules first before indulging himself. Just before eight o'clock the founders left for their portrait in the great hall. Harry finished the next few rules before standing and heading to the bathroom. After making sure he was presentable Harry took a deep breath and steeled himself before making his way down to the great hall.

If any of you have any ideas for the twins pranks please let me know. I have little in the way of imagination. They can't be too malicious and nothing that would require a student to stay more than a day or two in the hospital wing, except in cases where the prank has gone wrong.

Large scale pranks that affect the entire school are also welcome.

Seriously... I have no imagination. The only thing I can think of is one I used in the original Power of Shadows in which everyone in the hall is swapped gender for 24 hours or everyone transformed into their opposing houses animal mascot (Gryffindors into snakes, Slytherins into lions, Hufflepuffs into ravens and Ravenclaws into badgers.)

I need ideas!


	11. Chapter 11

Warning, this chapter contains; (Slightly unreasonably) OOC!Snape, a bunch of OC!Teachers and a Seventh Year OFC.

Harry sat at the Ravenclaw table to meet with Hermione and Luna and pulled out the rule book again. At eight exactly the food appeared on the table and Harry glanced at it before going back to his book. He had already eaten once today and was sure that if he ate again before noon he would be sick. He wasn't used to eating. He smiled at Hermione and Luna as they came into the hall and rushed over to him.

Harry grinned and put his book away. "Hello Hermione, Luna. How are you two? Enjoying Ravenclaw tower?"

Luna gave a dreamy smile. "It's quiet nice. The hinyplucks quite like it there."

Harry nodded sagely. "Ah, well, as long as the hinyplucks like it."

Hermione looked confusedly between the two of them. "What's a hinypluck?"

Harry shrugged. "No idea. So, Ravenclaw tower?"

Hermione grinned. "Oh, it's amazing! There are _so many books_! And Rowena Ravenclaw was there herself! As a portrait! Apparently the Grey Lady is her daughter, Helena. I had no idea. Neither did anyone else apparently. It came as such a surprise. Apparently Ravenclaw's portrait had been missing for a long time, no one had seen her in so long they'd forgotten what she looked like. They got the statue of her wrong. The diadem was mostly right though. There's a statue of Ravenclaw in the common room, right next to the staircases leading to the dorms. Oh, you should see the dorms! The view is amazing!"

Harry placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione! Breathe girl! Sylph you have an impressive pair of lungs. Do you stop to breathe _at all _when you talk?" he gave her a grin to show her he wasn't being cruel.

Hermione took a deep breath and sighed. "Sorry Harry. I'm still so new to this, I don't know when to stop sometimes." She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped at Harry's raised finger.

"That's alright Hermione. Everyone has to learn somehow. Trial and error. Hopefully less error."

Hermione laughed and nodded. "You're right. I'll try to hold myself back. So, when do you think we start classes? I hope we start right away." She again opened her mouth but hesitated before closing it again and looking at Harry.

He grinned. "See, you're learning already. We start classes next Monday apparently. This week will be so first years can learn where all their classes are so we don't get lost and for older students to catch up so they don't disrupt lessons for the next couple weeks before settling down into routine." There were some disappointed sounds from across the raven's table. Harry chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll be thankful of it later. Don't forget, this may be a boarding school but it is still a castle. Aside from the dungeons there are eight floors, ground floor included. It must be easy to get lost."

One of the other ravens nodded. "I guess so. Anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kevin Entwhistle."

Harry nodded and shook the boy's hand. "Harry Irving." Everyone else in his year introduced themselves and Harry smiled, remembering most of them from the sorting. His memory retention abilities made learning names easy. "So, is everyone looking forward to classes then?"

There was a general sense of agreement and a lot of people started talking about what subjects they liked best and were looking forward to. Harry mostly sat back and read the book of school rules though he still joined in the conversations. When Amanda asked why he wasn't eating he told them he ate before he came down to the hall.

At the end of breakfast the heads of house handed out the time tables and the headmistress stood up. She just told the students that classes started next Monday, prefects were assigned to guide younger students around the school for the first week so they don't get lost on the way to classes. She didn't really say anything he didn't know from Salazar.

She and the rest of the staff, along with most of the students started leaving the hall then. Madam Pomfrey stepped up to Harry. "If you would follow us, Mr Irving." Harry nodded and bade goodbye to the ravens.

He followed the matron through the halls and into a room on the ground floor. It was a large, rectangular room with mismatched dark wood furniture. There was a fireplace with a roaring flame going and a portrait of the founders sitting around a table above it, Godric and Salazar in the midst of a whispered argument.

Harry sat in one of the vacant chairs next to the matron as the last few members of staff filed in and sat around. Godric and Salazar cut off their argument and turned to face the room. Helga and Rowena rolled their eyes and picked up a teacup each, obviously used to the boys arguing.

McGonagall looked up at them. "Before we start, who are you four?"

Godric half turned and smirked over his shoulder, "Godric Gryffindor, at your service."

Helga clasped her hands in front of her chest and smiled gently. "I'm Helga Hufflepuff. It's nice to meet you all. I hope we can be friends."

Rowena looked to the side. "Rowena Ravenclaw."

Salazar grinned. "Salazar Slytherin. It's lovely to meet you all. Would I be right in assuming you are Minerva McGonagall, the new headmistress?"

McGonagall nodded. "Yes... I must say, you aren't exactly what I expected the founders to look like."

Godric chuckled. "Yeah. It's been a long time so I'm not surprised. Everyone just jumps to conclusions. I'm surprised they're so close about some things but so wrong about others."

McGonagall looked speculatively at them. "I didn't think Slytherin was so... agreeable. I thought he was a dark wizard."

Quirrel nodded from his chair, enchanted parasol over one shoulder protecting him from the sunlight. "Indeed. All of the history books depict you as being the same. A dark, Pure-Blood that hated Half-Blood's and Muggleborns with a passion and thought anyone not pure was unworthy of being educated here."

Salazar jerked backwards in the portrait. "What? No!"

Godric placed a hand on his shoulder. "Easy Zar." He turned to the vampire defence teacher. "It's been a long time since we were alive. The reason history is so wrong is because of the fifth headmaster after us. He hated slytherins in general and decided trashing Salazar's reputation was a good idea. He spread the lies for so long that people started to believe it. It doesn't help that one of Salazar's kids turned out to be a megalomaniac dark lord who killed countless muggles."

Salazar sniffed. "_Why _Geoff..."

Godric rubbed his friends back. "He's not worth your tears, Zar. Don't cry over him. He made his choice." Salazar sniffled again and nodded. Godric turned back to the headmistress. "History is written by those in power. If the wrong person comes into power, the truth is cast aside for what they want you to think."

Snape nodded from his place towards the back of the room, slightly further away from the rest of the staff. "That is true but it doesn't explain Lord Slytherin acting so..."

"Juvenile?" Quirrel smirked. "He's not worthy or the title Lord. He's a wimp."

Salazar jerked backwards slightly and gasped before turning and running out of the canvas. Godric reached towards him. "Zar!" he glared down at the professors. "Now look what you've done!" He ran off after Salazar.

Rowena looked down disdainfully. "You disgust me." and walked off after the other two.

Snape glared at Quirrel. "You shouldn't have said that." Quirrel huffed and folded his arms. Snape looked up at the only remaining founder. "I was going to say, 'Why is his behaviour so _erratic_'?"

Helga bit her lip and looked to the side after the others before looking back down at the hall. "Well... while we were building the castle...

_The sound of stone on stone shot through the air, voices calling to each other mixing into it. Four people could be seen dragging huge stones from the quarry to the stone smith by themselves where others used carts or levitation spells to move the slabs. The sound of metal on stone accompanied a group of people, much shorter than the others, cutting and trimming the stone to just the right size before sending it up to the construction site._

_The ground and first floors were already built, the workers building up the third floor now._

_The sound of chattering children playing on the field a good distance away was carried by the gently breeze. The four people pulling stone stopped after they dropped off the next load and looked over the building work._

_Godric smiled. "It's really coming along now. At this rate, we'll be ready by September."_

_Salazar nodded. "The sooner the better. You've seen what those people do to people with magic. I don't want to risk any more children."_

_Helga nodded. "Is that why you collected so many?" she asked, pointing at the large collection of children in the field._

_Salazar chuckled nervously. "Yeah. I just have a soft spot for children. Besides, you can't say you wouldn't do exactly the same."_

_The other three chuckled but nodded. Godric looked the building over. "How many floors again?"_

_Salazar grinned. "Seven. With a few towers and of course the dungeons."_

_Godric sighed. "Why do we need it so big?" he looked longingly at the children laying splayed on the floor soaking up the sun. It was a hot day and no one really wanted to work._

_Salazar wrapped an arm around his neck. "Because," he ruffled his friend's hair. "If it's going to be a school as well as a home to anyone who needs it, it will need to be big! Besides, who doesn't want to spend time running around a magical castle and explore its secrets!"_

_Godric flailed ineffectively in the headlock while Rowena and Helga laughed. He eventually managed to pull out and began tidying his hair. "Don't mess with my hair Salazar!"_

_Salazar ruffled it again. "It looks better like this!" he pulled it into a new style and smirked. Godric glared at him before fixing it back how it was before. They looked over as the ladies in the large open tent rang the bell for lunch. The children and anyone not busy walked over (Ran in the case of the children) and began serving themselves and helping serve up for the others, who all came over after they finished what they had been doing._

_The children finished first naturally and rushed back off to play. Salazar chuckled and followed them out. The tent was filled with a pleasant buzz as everyone chatted and relaxed, a few wives helping partners relax their tired shoulders._

_Everyone froze at a loud, piercing shriek and a shout of alarm that was swiftly followed by the sound of collapsing rocks. They all ran out and saw some rocks fallen from the top floor now on the ground. A group of children were on the ground just outside on the danger area and were now crying. Parents frantically gathered their children and made sure everyone was safe._

_Helga, Rowena and Godric gathered up Salazar's orphans and did a quick count. They relaxed when it became apparent that they were all there before a voice called out and had everyone on edge. "Evangeline!" _

_A glance showed her not to be in the immediate area and everyone frantically started pulling apart the rubble. Helga looked up. "Where's Salazar?!" her question was answered by more frantic movements and soon the pair was uncovered from the rubble. Evangeline was held tightly to Salazar's chest, his back to the fallen rocks. She carefully climbed out and was immediately checked for injuries before being passed to her parents. Thankfully she was relatively unharmed._

_Godric gently knelt down next to Salazar and cast a few basic healing spells at the wounds along his back and on the back of his head. A stretcher was brought over and he was carefully moved to the medical tent._

_It was several hours of Godric and the healers doing everything they could before they came out of the tent. Godric sank into a chair and dropped his head into his hands. "He'll live..." Helga and Rowena hugged him and he took a deep breath before continuing. "His wounds were pretty bad. He'll live. I don't know when he'll wake up though..."_

"We stopped building for two weeks while we waited for him to wake up. This castle... had always been Salazar's dream. It was always _his_ thing. He wanted to build a place where those who were outcast from their home could come and be safe. A place where children could grown and learn without fear. Where they could learn how to use their powers..." Helga sighed. "When he woke... he wasn't the same. His emotions were uncontrollable. He had no emotional self control. It scared him for a while too. He was overly emotional and was set off by the slightest thing."

She looked off to where the other three had vanished out of the frame. "With how different Salazar was after the accident... it was like he'd died and someone else was in his place." She wiped at the fresh wave of tears and shook her head. "He almost died saving a child that nowadays would be termed a squib. You all think he's some cruel sadist who hates anyone not 'Pure-Blood' and would sooner kill them all than let them live here, but you couldn't be further from the mark. He's a good man who spent his entire life fighting for what's right and those less fortunate than him." She glared at everyone in the room. "You would do well to be half the man he is!" she turned and sped out of the portrait after the other three.

Snape glared at Quirrel. "Congratulations. You've managed to upset all four of the founders." Quirrel snorted.

Salazar came bounding back into the portrait with Godric and Rowena at his heels. "I'm okay now."

Godric smirked. "The upside to his mood swings. He doesn't sulk for long. Doesn't hold grudges either."

Salazar nodded. "Why stay angry at someone for something when it's easier to let it go and move on with your life?"

Godric nodded. "Exactly. So, shall we begin then? I'm interested in seeing what you'll do with our apprentice."

McGonagall nodded. "Of course. So, Mr Irving, where would you say you were in each subject?"

Harry bit his lip. "I only found out the magical world existed at the end of July so I've only had a month. I haven't tried any spells out and I know I have no experience with potions, though I can cook well so preparing the ingredients for a potion shouldn't be too much trouble. I have done a lot of gardening though. I think I'd be good at Herbology."

Quirrel smirked. "And defence?"

Salazar looked at the man. "Harry will not be participating in any defence practice until either myself or Miss Romanov give him the go ahead."

The staff looked at him in confusion before there was a knock at the door. A seventh year student popped her head round the door. "Professors? Sorry to interrupt. A house elf delivered a message saying I was needed here."

Professor Flitwick smiled. "Ah, come in Miss Romanov. Excellent timing."

She came in and sat in the empty chair next to Harry at the diminutive professor's gesture. "Why am I here?" she looked around the room cautiously. From the blue trim on her robes Harry could tell she was a Ravenclaw. There was something about her magic though... something different, but familiar... she looked down at him and tilted her head. "You're a mage?"

Harry blinked in shock and leant away slightly. "Um... yeah."

She nodded. "I thought so. I'm a rank one mage, myself, so I recognised your magic. I'm Anna Romanov by the way."

Harry nervously grinned. "Harry Irving. If you're a mage, why aren't you a Hogwarts apprentice?"

Anna smirked. "Everyone born into my family is a rank one mage. I had done enough control exercises before coming to Hogwarts that I was able to do the first year spells and was able to join the other first years."

Salazar smiled down at them. "And that is why you are here. We need you to help teach Harry how to control his magic. He's a rank six mage so he needs a lot of control before he can learn the lower level spells."

Anna nodded. "Ah, I see. Yeah. I can help. Level one stuff is basic but I know some of the more advanced stuff. Mum's a rank four. She got to rank two after having my older brother and then rank three after me. Rank four was during the war."

Harry blinked. "So, child birth is traumatic enough to raise a mage an entire rank?"

Anna nodded. "Yeah, though the power boost decreases with each child and stops entirely after four."

Harry nodded. "I can't imagine wanting to do something like that more than once. Thankfully I'm male."

Anna laughed. "Yeah. You boys always have it easy. Anyway, I'd be happy to help you learn how to control your powers."

Harry nodded. "Thank you. I'd appreciate it."

Salazar slapped himself on the head. "I _knew_ there was something I was supposed to do this morning. Harry, we need to get an accurate reading of your power levels. Hold on, Mint will take you to your rooms real quick."

Before Harry could open his mouth to reply Mint had popped in, grabbed his hand and popped back out. Harry braced himself in a crouch as he suddenly was without a chair to support him. He managed to push himself into a standing position without too much effort.

Salazar walked into his portrait where Helga was still sitting, clearly trying to pull herself back together. "Right, Harry. See the computer?" Harry nodded. "Turn it on."

Harry walked over and sat down. "Where's the on switch?"

"Just put your hand on the middle of the screen. That's it. Right, see those two trays on the bottom of the monitor? The one on the right, push that button." What looked like a disc tray with bits of glass popped out. "Right, prick your finger on that sharp edge there, put some blood in between the two sheets of glass and push the tray back in." Harry did so. "Okay, on the screen, touch the icon in the bottom left corner, now the third one from the top. Okay, click on the green button. Right, now we wait for the results. Shouldn't take long."

Harry looked at the eccentric founder. "So, what does it do?"

"Well, what you've just asked it to do is read the levels of mana and magic inside you. We can use it to judge your control level and how much we will have to work to get you up to scratch."

Harry nodded and looked back at the computer. "I thought technology didn't work in Hogwarts?"

Salazar shook his head. "Electrical devices don't work around magic but this is Magi-technology. It's _designed_ to work _with_ magic. It took a lot of work to make."

Harry nodded. "Right. I see." A box popped up on the screen and Harry looked it over.

"Right, click on the print button on the top, the one that looks like a piece of paper coming out the top of a box." Harry did so and a sheet of paper came out of a draw to his right. "Take that with you back to the staff room."

Harry picked it up and stood up, letting Mint take him back to the staff room. He looked sheepishly at the staff who shrugged it off.

Salazar and Helga stepped into the portrait and Salazar grinned. "So, Harry. What is your Merlin Count?"

Harry looked at the sheet. "One five nine four three... Fifteen thousand nine hundred and forty three." He looked at Anna. "Is that high?"

Anna smirked. "Not for a rank six mage it's not. Do you have a staff? Usually anyone over five hundred has one."

Harry nodded and pulled his staff from his bag. "Yeah."

Anna whistled low and leant forwards to examine it. "Nice. Very stylish."

Harry smirked. "Thanks."

Salazar nodded. "What about your mana count, Harry?"

Harry looked back at the sheet. "Two hundred and fifty two."

Salazar nodded. "Not bad. Higher than I was expecting."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?" the number seemed pretty low to him, especially when compared to his magic.

Salazar tilted his head to one side. "Typically someone's mana count is about ten. In mages it's higher if they've trained it up for their control, like Anna. With all the training you did this summer I knew it would be larger than normal but it is still higher than I expected. That just means you will improve faster which means you will be able learn how to cast spells sooner. Admittedly I wasn't expecting your Merlin Count to be quite so high. Your control over you magic will be shot to hell at the moment. You won't be able to cast anything less than massive, area effect spells that would kill most people using them."

Harry sighed. "Just another thing to make me abnormal."

Anna gently gripped his shoulder. "You're not abnormal. You've just got a bit more power than most people and need more training before you can control it. You are not abnormal. I don't know why you're a mage but I know it must have been something magically traumatic and to get to level six at your age?" she shook her head. "You've been through hell and back. I won't pretend to understand what you're going through but I will help in any way I can."

Harry smiled. "Thanks."

Godric sighed. "Well, if his control is as bad as you say it is, what will he be doing in lessons?"

Professor Sprout smiled. "Well, there's no reason he can't attend first year classes in Herbology."

Snape nodded. "Same with potions, provided you don't so much as touch your wand in the class room." He gave Harry a slight glare. Mentally adding '_And stay out of my head._'

Harry rolled his eyes slightly. "Yes sir."

Rowena nodded slowly. "You will have to cover nothing but theory for a while. I would not suggest the usual number of classes other students have."

The other three founders looked towards her. Helga tilted her head to the side. "What do you mean, Rowena?"

The raven claw founder looked over Harry. "He would become bored if he had more than one class of each subject a week in those he cannot participate in. Perhaps if he were to take more classes that didn't require magic for now and add extra sessions of the core classes later when he can cast the spells."

McGonagall nodded. "That makes sense. Now then, Mr Irving, we offer a range of classes. The elective classes are not usually offered until third year but you can take them now if any of them peak your interest. We also have a number of extracurricular classes you could take."

In the end they spent the entire morning writing Harry's time table up.

On Monday he would work in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey between nine o'clock and ten thirty. Then he would have a free period until after lunch where he would have double potions with Professor Snape from one o'clock to three thirty. Then between four o'clock and lunch time he would be joining the other first years in study hall.

On Tuesday he had history of magic between nine and ten thirty, then he had fee time until two thirty where he would have charms with Professor Flitwick until four and them Herbology with Professor Sprout until five thirty. Then after dinner he had his offensive magic class with Genis and his swordsmanship classes with the dual swordsman.

On Wednesday he had transfiguration with Professor Stroud between nine and ten thirty then he had free time until one o'clock for ancient runes with Professor Babbling. He then had half an hour before Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Kettleburn and then free time until after dinner before art class with Professor Quick between seven and eight thirty, instead of healing magic classes. Then he had his usual swordsmanship class until ten before he had Astronomy at midnight.

On Thursday he had potions between ten thirty and noon, Herbology between one and three thirty. History of magic between four and five thirty and then music with Professor Tenor between seven and eight thirty.

On Friday he had an hour and a half off in the morning before spending the entire day in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey for a healing theory lesson between ten thirty and noon and general work in the hospital wing between one and six.

(A/N: a picture of Harry's timetable can be found on my facebook page)

Anna had agreed to meet with him every Saturday morning after breakfast to help teach him control of his magic. And every Sunday before dinner to teach him meditation techniques. Harry also joined the Hogwarts orchestra which met every Sunday morning until lunch. Harry couldn't play any instruments and he didn't have much faith in his singing voice but he was interested in seeing if he could. It was one of the reasons he was taking the music class.

All in all he had about thirty three hours of work in a week with twenty hours of free time. This was more free time most students had since they usually had more classes a week than he did. Of course, this wasn't counting time before breakfast and after dinner.

As they all headed down to lunch Harry was engaged in a deep conversation with Anna. She told him about what kind of things they would be doing as training and what kind of control exercises he could do. She was going to write home and ask for a book about it as well as some higher level techniques since had way too much power to control it properly. When they got to the hall they were earlier than most of the other students and sat at the Ravenclaw table. Harry looked at the healthy spread that Mint popped onto the table in place of what was there before.

He smiled at the seventh year. "The house elf assigned to me by the school is insistent that I eat a full and healthy meal. She seems the type you don't want to upset. Help yourself to whatever." He put some of the sandwiches on his plate along with some fruit, salad and salad-pasta. When the other Ravenclaws came down those that sat near Harry and Anna wanted some of the healthier foods too. Slowly the food on the entire table was replaced with a healthier option than what Hogwarts served.

By the time lunch ended not only did the Ravenclaws have the healthy foods but so did the Hufflepuffs, the Slytherins and most of the Gryffindor table. When lunch finished Harry quickly found Neville and fell into step beside him. "Hey Neville."

The other boy jumped slightly and looked at him. "Oh, hey Harry. How are you?"

Harry smiled. "I'm alright. You?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah. Gryffindor is awesome. The view from the tower is cool. We can see the lake, the front of the school grounds, the game keepers hut and the forbidden forest from the common room window. And get this, there's a whomping willow on the grounds. I would never have thought a school like this would have such a dangerous tree here. They are incredibly rare, almost extinct. The one here on the grounds must be one of the last ones still around. They're naturally native to northern Scotland actually. They take a lot to take care of. I'm thinking of asking the Herbology teacher for a cutting or a seed. We don't have one in our green houses at home. Did you know they're actually sentient?"

Harry smiled at how enthusiastic the boy was getting about a tree. He was so shy on the train and seemed to be unwilling to put himself into the conversation. "I didn't know that. You seem to know a lot about plants."

Neville nodded. "Yeah, I do a lot of work in my family's greenhouses. Most of the Longbottom fortune came from our greenhouses and exporting plants and potions ingredients. Most of the school supply of ingredients is bought directly from my family."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Really? Impressive. Will you be going into the family business then? You seem like you'd be good at it."

Neville sighed and shook his head. "Gran wants me to be an Auror. I would prefer to be in the greenhouses but I don't want to upset Gran."

Harry tilted his head. "Why don't you do what you want to? It's your life, your future. You should do something your good at and enjoy doing. Besides, it's a family business right? You're doing what everyone in your family has done."

Neville nodded. "Yeah, but my dad was an Auror so my Gran wants me to follow in my dad's footsteps."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "I can't say I know what it's like having someone's footsteps to follow in, but I can say that you are your own person. You shouldn't let other people's opinions push you into doing something you don't want to. Even if I knew anything about my parent's I would still not want to do what they do, I would be myself, do what I want to do."

Neville sighed and smiled. "Thanks. I will try and get Gran to see it that way. I do want to work in the greenhouse. I'll try and convince her."

Harry nodded. "Get good grades in Herbology and she'll see how talented you are. You definitely seem to know your stuff." Harry smiled as Hermione and Luna came jogging up and joined them just as they stepped out onto the grounds. Harry looked around. "Let's go sit aver there." He pointed to a tree by the lake and that all went over and sat down.

They sat, discussing time tables for a while. They three of them were shocked at how early Harry got up every morning. Neville shocked Harry by asking if he could join him on his morning run. Harry smiled. "Sure, but you'll have to get up early since you will need to warm up before doing anything else. You sure you're up for it?"

Neville nodded. "Yeah. I really want to get into shape. Walking around all those stairs this morning just about killed me."

Hermione and Luna expressed an interest in his classes with Sheena and also expressed an interest in joining him for his morning runs. Harry welcomed them to join him, if they could wake up on time. Neville then asked if he could join his work out sessions with Regal. Harry smiled. He had gone from having no friends at all to suddenly having three who genuinely wanted to spend time with him, even if it meant getting up at six in the morning.

They weren't outside for long before other students started showing up. Harry grinned as the giant squid floated to the surface. The pair of red headed twins he had noticed at the sorting took off their shoes and socks, rolled up their trousers legs and waded into the water. They began tickling the giant squid's tentacles. Harry sent a quick mental probe at the squid and smiled when he got a sense of amusement and happiness back from the squid. He was enjoying it.

Luna took off her shoes and draped her feet in the water. "Oh, it's warm." Hermione joined her. They were soon joined by some other first years from varying houses, splashing about in the shallow end of the lake. Some of the upper years stood around watching, making sure no one got into any trouble.

Harry smiled and leant back against the tree. He would definitely enjoy the next seven years here.

Man I didn't realise until now but my autism really shows in my writing. I keep making Harry say things which are completely accurate, even if only guesses, but he has no foundation for the guess. Like house elves being assigned to each of the towers to clean things. At no point did he learn that, or even have it implied and it's not mentioned in Hogwarts; A history. I cut them out when I find them but can you guys let me know if I'm making Harry too smart? I kind of don't notice.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ddragon21**. The Sherlock idea is a good one but at this point in the story Harry is still an eleven year old who hasn't seen much of the world outside of his bubble. He doesn't have the experience to be able to make judgement like that yet. He will eventually have that level of skill if only because he has a very good memory due to his training at the Dursleys. As for Voldemort, you will have to wait and see, but I have something planned for him.

For Harry's career, he is an eleven year old who knows almost nothing about the world he is in, he will have to do a lot research into different fields before finding one he enjoys and is good at, so even _I _haven't planned that yet.

**Twilightserius.** '_What bout his wings?'_ Harry's wings are like Lloyd and Colette's he can 'put them away' and bring them back out again whenever he wants. He doesn't want anyone to see them but he will use them if he really needs to. I'm not quite sure what you're asking, so I can't really provide you with an answer... Sorry.

Also, congratulations for leaving the 100th review. Virtual cookie for you. *gives cookie*

**Rebeliousone**. '_Will Rowena help Harry with his reading and other basic subjects that he missed out on when he was pulled from school early?' _Thank you for reminding me about that, I forgot. It will be addressed very soon but Rowena won't be the one to help.  
'_They know about everything from the sorting hat right?'_ Not everything.

Everything the sorting hat sees is confidential information between him and the student. He only shares the minimal amount of information needed if it is ever needed. He informed the founders and the Symphonia 8 about Harry discovering the game, about him developing mana and other things like that. He didn't tell them about anything specific like Harry being pulled out of school (since he doesn't see it as an issue) or any individual events of his past.

This was built into him when he was created to protect students from anyone meaning them harm, like members of staff or other students parents since family feuds were common back in those days and people would do whatever it took to take out their enemies, even if it meant harming children.

After dinner Harry went back up to his rooms, he had a lot to do if he wanted to be able to cast spells properly. He walked in and waved at the portraits.

Lloyd grinned down at him. "Alright Harry. We need to see how skilled you are with those swords. We got a basic idea from the sorting hat but it would be better if we could see ourselves."

Harry nodded. "Alright. Shall I go down?" He pointed at the stair case. Lloyd nodded and everyone vanished from their portraits. Harry walked down the stairs and got his first look at the room. The wall next to him, like the floor above, was one big window. He could see out over the grounds. He smiled at the view. It was like flying without the effort.

He turned away from the window and looked the room over. It was a lot bigger than he was expecting and separated into several different areas. The one closest to the stairs was a soft, slightly padded floor with a few different contraptions Harry could only guess the use for. Like that huge pink ball that came up to about his knees.

Next to it was a number of weight machines and some boxing equipment that he only recognised because he was forced to keep Dudley's equipment in top condition.

There was what looked like a shooting range that Harry guessed was for casting and spell practice. The rest of the area was like an arena without the stands. There was a selection of training dummies along the back wall in various different types of armour and with different weapons beside them.

Harry looked at them warily, knowing enough about the wizarding world to know they had some purpose but not enough to be able to guess as to what. He didn't like the look of them at any rate.

There were a number of portraits around the walls with runes carved around them, presumably to protect them from damage. The four founders and the Symphonia eight were gathered in these.

Lloyd grinned. "Alright, we're going to evaluate your sword skills now then you can cool down while the girls test your flexibility..." He said the last word slowly, glancing at Genis who nodded silently. "Then, once you've had a break, we can test your strength with those things there." He pointed to the weight machines.

"They are called weight machines, Lloyd." Regal supplied, smiling slightly at the younger male.

Lloyd nodded. "Right, that. Anyway, once all that's done you get to go to bed, in the morning Raine and Genis will see how good you are with magic."

Harry smiled, though he was sure it was more of a grimace. "Alright. So, what do you want to see?"

Godric smiled evilly. "Don't die, Harry."

Harry looked at him curiously for a moment before one of the training dummies at the end of the room came to life and grabbed a sword, moving forwards to meet Harry. "Oh shit." Harry drew his swords and easily parried the blade of the training dummy, sending a slash of his own at the enchanted contraption.

He spent a good two and a half hours dodging, blocking, parrying and attacking the various dummies coming at him with different weapons before the fight was called to a stop.

Harry sheathed his swords and leant over breathing heavily. This was the hardest he'd had to work. Ever. Not even Roland and Marcus were this relentless, though he did only have to fight one of them at a time.

He groaned and stood up straight when the ladies called to him and he gingerly walked over to the padded mat. He smiled at the sight of a small table with a glass of water and a jug with a few ice cubes floating on the surface, condensation already clinging to both glasses.

He slowly drank the glass down before refilling it and draining about half of it before setting it on the table. He picked up a white towel from the top of one of the machines and wiped the sweat of his face and neck before turning his attention to Presea, Sheena, Helga and Rowena.

They directed him through various different stretches and poses, only half of them he could do, the others only being able to half do or vaguely attempt.

The girls eventually sighed and let him rest where he flopped down on the floor, breathing heavily.

Sheena sighed. "Well, you have a bit of natural flexibility but you don't know many stretches. If you stretched before you practiced sword fighting and cooled down properly afterwards you could improve a lot faster."

Harry nodded from his position on the floor and pushed himself up far enough to grab his glass and drain the rest of what was in there before flopping down on the ground. "I didn't know stretching could tire you out so much."

Sheena nodded. "Yeah, and we have to be careful with you since you can't feel pain, you don't know your limits like other people. You could easily pull something."

Harry waved a hand dismissively in the air. "No worries, I know when there is pain, even if I can't feel it. I'll know if I pull something, I just won't be bothered by it."

Helga nodded. "That's good." She tucked a stray strand of her golden blond hair back behind an ear. "I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

Harry nodded. "Me neither." He stayed lying flat on the floor for a moment before tilting his head to look at Lloyd's portrait. "So... How do you guys have portraits here anyhow? I thought you were characters in a game. Did you actually exist?"

Lloyd shook his head. "Nah, we come from Aselia. Our worlds are different worlds. Not like Sylvarant and Tethe'alla were. Um... Raine?"

Raine sighed quietly and smiled at Lloyd. "Honestly Lloyd. Don't you listen to anything we tell you?"

Lloyd grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "No. I can't learn. I'm a painting."

Raine sighed again and shook her head. She turned to face Harry properly. "There are a number of different worlds in existence. Some of them are connected. Some are only connected for a short time, some have a weak connection, while others have a strong one. For example, this world lies almost parallel with another that is extremely similar but there is no magic, no witches or wizards. It's all myth in that world."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Raine nodded. "Yes. Most times people don't cross over other than in fiction, myth and legend. There are some people who are connected to other worlds and are influenced by them."

Regal nodded. "I, myself, am one example. I dream of a world other than my own, and it influenced what my company makes and develops. My father and his father were the same. Likewise, there is someone in this world who has seen my world, and created the game 'Tales of Symphonia'."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Regal nodded. "Yes, though just because one person is a focus point between the worlds doesn't mean they see each other. And it does not mean that just because I am a focus point that I can travel the bridge, nor that anyone who crosses will appear near me. It just means that I am one of the few who can 'see' through the veil. More often than not the veil is a physical object. In our case it is the Other Worldly Gate."

Harry nodded. "Then how are you here? Did you all cross over?"

Surprisingly it was Sal who answered. "No, actually someone from this world crossed over to theirs, while he was there he made their portraits and brought them back over with him when he came back."

Harry nodded. "I see. So you all never existed here?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah."

Harry nodded and drank another glass of water before pushing himself to his feet and stretching out his arms. "So, what first?" He followed Regal's instructions and used each of the machines to test how strong he was. Due to his angel strength his limits were much higher than any other humans could be and he still hadn't reached his full potential yet.

By the end of the evaluation he had managed to use almost half of the weights on the machines, which normally wouldn't be much but the weights all had runes on them to multiply each one about five times, so a 5KG weight now weighed 25 kilos.

After they had finished with the weights Harry tool a long shower before climbing into bed. He was awake for hours before falling asleep and waking up two hours later. He sat in the bedroom for a few more hours reading before he left the bedroom at about four o'clock, being completely bored.

Godric smirked at Salazar. "See Zar, I told you. He won't sleep."

Harry nodded. "I can sleep a couple of times a week if I try hard enough but I don't _have_ to sleep. I could be spending the time better."

Salazar sighed. "Fine, go waist all my hard work. What could you possible do that is more important than sleep?"

Harry raised one eyebrow. "Anything. I don't need to sleep. I could spend my time studying or practicing magic like I have done since I first stopped sleeping. The faster I can get my magic under control the better." For a moment he considered mentioning that he had been pulled out of school early but decided it wasn't worth how Raine would react to a student having such a poor level of education.

Colette tilted her head to one side. "Why don't you need to sleep?"

Harry looked up at her. "Didn't the sorting hat tell you?"

She shook her head. "No, he only said you didn't need to eat or sleep anymore. He didn't say why."

Harry nodded. "Oh, right. Well, this is why." He spread his wings out. Everyone in the portraits jerked backwards, shock clearly visible on everyone's faces. "I accidentally started the angel transformation." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "To tell you the truth I only wanted the wings but my magic did the whole 'don't need to eat or sleep' thing since the Dursleys were starving me and working me to the bone. If I hadn't done it, I'd be dead right now."

Colette clasped both hands in front of her chest. "Did you get the Angel Toxicosis?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I passed out for a while though. I didn't wake up for about two days. Vernon gave me a pretty harsh beating when I got back to the house, since I had been out in the woods that whole time. I was shocked it didn't hurt but I didn't let him know. I slept for a while after that, until my injuries healed but when I woke up I just, couldn't sleep anymore. I spent a little over a week sitting in the cupboard waiting for morning before I started just going out at night to practice magic."

Everyone was silent for a long time. The Symphonia eight were all looking at Harry with varying degrees of sympathy and understanding. Godric looked pained and was grimacing slightly. Rowena had her eyes closed and looked like she was trying to control herself. Helga was openly sobbing before she ran out the portrait. Salazar had gone very pale and was breathing quite heavily before he looked down at the ground and squeezed his eyes shut.

Harry tilted his head and looked at Godric, who just closed his eyes and grimaced before shaking his head and walking off after Helga, Rowena following a second later.

Salazar took a deep breath. "Alright, just... Do what you need to." He quickly ran out of the frame after the other founders.

Harry tilted his head and looked at the others, putting his wings away, suddenly feeling quite self conscious. "What was that about?"

Lloyd shrugged and shook his head, slightly paler than usual. "No idea. Salazar has always been a bit... Touchy about angels. The other founders too."

Harry nodded slowly. "Maybe because of the witch hunts? A lot of magicals were killed in the name of god. I guess god and angels are a sore subject for people of that time?" He looked at Raine in question. He was lucky he knew about the witch hunts. Petunia was always quite adamant about telling him about them.

_It's not normal for someone to do those freaky things. You know what we did to freaks? Burned them at the stake is what. You be glad we don't do that nowadays._

She nodded. "That is a good hypothesis and most likely accurate. It would be best not to mention this further. For now, very little is known about the Angel Transformation, we had assumed your magic was keeping you alive but if your magic has altered your DNA into an angel then that changes things. Start up the computer, we need to run some tests."

Harry nodded and placed his hand on the computer screen, watching it spring to life. He followed Raine's directions and had the computer scan his blood a few more times along with a sample of saliva and id did a few scans through some kind of red scanning laser thingy.

Eventually he read over all the results and Raine sat thinking for a while. After a moment a house-elf popped into the room with a giant cork board and Harry stuck all the bits of paper to it with thumb tacks.

She was interrupted when Presea spoke up. "Tuesday the third of September. Schedule. 6AM, wake, Gymnastics training with Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood, 7:30AM, running, 8AM to 9AM, breakfast, 9AM to 12 noon, Evaluation of skills with teachers, 12 noon to 1PM, lunch, 1PM to 6PM, evaluation of skills with teachers, 6PM to 7PM, dinner, 9PM, evaluation of magical skills with us."

Harry looked at the clock on the mantel piece. Six o'clock. "Right, thanks Presea." He looked back up at Raine. "I'll let you get on with that. Let me know what you make of it once you have the results."

Sheena smiled. "I'll watch the door." She disappeared for a few moments before the door swung open and she walked back in. "Talk about good timing. Your friends just showed up."

Hermione and Luna both walked into the room. Luna smiled. "Good morning Harry. I see you are well today."

Harry smiled. "I am, thank you. Good morning both of you. Are you ready?"

They nodded and he led them downstairs. He introduced them to Sheena and Presea before they began. Both girls got a much shorter test from Sheena while Presea directed Harry to a few poses. Hermione then joined Harry while Sheena and Luna worked off to one side slightly.

Harry looked at them a few minutes later. He stood up straight and stared for a moment. "How can someone bend like that?"

Hermione looked over before staring at Luna with the same disbelief as Harry. "I... have no idea..."

Luna was currently standing on her right leg, her head against the back of her right knee. Her left knee was pointing at the ceiling while the lower half of her left leg was pointing off to the side, parallel with the ground. One arm was wrapped around the back of her neck while the other was hooked around her right leg and her hand was holding her right ankle.

Harry shook his head slightly. "How is that even possible?"

Hermione shrugged slightly. "I have no idea."

They both shook their heads and went back to their own work out. They all took a break half way through and sat drinking and chatting. Hermione filled most of the silence but Harry and Luna didn't mind. They were both content to simply sit and listen.

At the end of the session they took turns in Harry's shower and went downstairs to meet up with Neville. They actually met up with him on a staircase on the way down so they all headed out to the quidditch pitch and Harry directed Neville to warm up properly.

By the end of the half hour, Hermione had managed a total of three laps, Neville had managed four, Luna nine and Harry hadn't bothered counting. When they were heading in Hermione sighed heavily. "I had no idea it would be this hard. I know I've never been one for exercise but still..."

Harry looked over at her. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to." He shrugged slightly. "Not everyone likes running. It's okay if you don't want to keep doing it."

Hermione shook her head. "No, it's alright. We're living in a castle. I need to get into shape or I'll never get to class on time."

Harry smiled and bid them all goodbye, heading towards his rooms while the others went to the towers. He sat at the Hufflepuff table for breakfast today. He was surprised how friendly they all were. He wasn't used to people being nice to him and it made him feel slightly awkward.

After breakfast he glanced at the teachers table and nodded when the headmistress gave him a look. When the other students started filing out of the hall he walked up the staff table. "Yes Professor?"

"Mr Irving, we wish to evaluate your skills properly today so we can get a better idea of what we need to teach you."

Harry nodded. "Of course, Headmistress."

By lunch each of the teachers had assessed him in their subjects and had a much better idea of what they should be teaching him. Thankfully they all had the same apprehension of asking him to cast any spells just yet. For the first while in his classes he would be covering theories necessary for first years to know before covering any other theory necessary to get to the seventh year material before he began actual spell casting.

After the lunch hour (in which Harry was happy to sit back and eat nothing) he went up to the hospital wing to see Madam Pomfrey and let her evaluate his skills.

"So, Mr Irving, what can you do?" She looked almost eager.

Harry sighed slightly and frowned. "Well, that's the question isn't it?" He hummed quietly as he debated what he could tell her. "What I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anyone else. I mean, no one can know. This has to be something you take to your grave." He saw the matron frown and explained, "If the wrong kind of people get a hold of these techniques, it could end the world as we know it."

Madam Pomfrey nodded slowly before agreeing so Harry explained about mana and how he used it for healing. "I don't see how it can be used to destroy the world."

Harry smirked dryly. "Healing isn't the only thing I can cast with these spells. It is possible for me to learn a spell strong enough to level a large city in one hit." _**Devine Judgement**_, as seen in the OVA_._ Though perhaps levelling a large city was a bit of an exaggeration. Pomfrey didn't need to know that.

The healer took a slight step backwards. "R-really?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. "So you see why I have to keep this quiet? The healing spells are just the start. I've only just begun to cast them properly. I've been using my magic to cast them as opposed to my mana but I'm learning them again from fresh so I will be able to cast all of them again soon." His eyes darkened and he looked down at the floor. "If I use my magic, I can heal magical people. I healed a vampire once but I wasn't able to heal a young boy I'd met who was fatally wounded. The vampire had magic so my magic was able to heal him but the kid must have been a civilian since my spells did nothing. If I had used mana I could have saved him but I didn't know..."

Pomfrey gently gripped Harry's shoulder and he looked up at her. "I take it he was the first patient you lost?"

Harry nodded. "He was only my second patient, right after the goblin king and before the vampire."

Pomfrey nodded and gently squeezed his shoulder. "It's never easy to lose a patient. I've lost a few before I came here to work. It gets easier to deal with."

Harry nodded. "I figured. It's just... He was about four. He was way too young and if I had known to use my mana to cast the spells instead of my magic, if I had known they were both there, I would have been able to save him. He didn't need to die." Harry sighed and looked back towards his feet. "If I had been better, he would have lived." He raised his head and stared Pomfrey in the eye, determination shining in his eyes. "That is why I'm going to get better. I will not let anyone else suffer like I did. I won't let anyone else die if I can do something about it."

Pomfrey smiled and nodded. "Good. Don't let that determination go. You'll go far, I know it. Now, let me show you around the ward and tell you what you'll be doing as my apprentice."

Harry was then treated to a tour of the ward and an impressively long lecture on proper hygiene and protocol for the ward and a long list of the typical medical issues faced in a school full of children. It was a fair bit longer than Harry had expected. Harry was then taken into Madam Pomfrey's office and was told to demonstrate every healing spell he knew. Shortly before dinner the healer gave Harry a pile of books.

"You'll need those. Not all of them right away but once you can cast spells properly we will be able to start teaching you our methods of healing."

Harry nodded. "Right. Thank you." He put all the books in the pouch at his waist, much to the matron's surprise. When they got to the great hall for dinner Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Neville. "Hey Neville."

Neville smiled shyly at Harry. "Hey Harry. Good day?"

Harry huffed. "Kind of. Spent most of it being evaluated by the teachers and then getting lectured on proper hygiene in a hospital ward by our matron. Neville, I'm giving you a golden piece of advice here. Don't ever get sent to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey can lecture the ears off a deaf man."

Neville chuckled. "Alright. I'll try. Anyway, Harry, these are my dorm mates. Ron, Dean, Seamus and Bem. Guys, this is Harry."

Harry smiled and nodded to each of them. "It is nice to meet you all. I'm Harry Irving."

A dark skinned boy grinned, his eyes sparkling slightly. "Nice to meet you too. Dean Thomas." He reached over and shook Harry's hand. He had a firm grip.

The boy beside him smiled and reached over. "Seamus Finnegan. Pleasure to meet ya." He had a very strong Irish accent. (An. I will not be writing accents in this other than Hagrid's and occasionally Minerva when she's being extra Scottish. I cannot do accents other than Scottish and Hagrid.) "Neville's told us a lot about you."

The boy sitting on Harry's other side nodded. "Yeah. You've earned some high praise." He awkwardly shook Harry's hand, since their sitting position made it difficult. Harry noted his back was straight and he was holding himself like a nobleman. "Bem Bello."

Harry nodded respectfully at him and turned his attention to Ron. "And I know you already."

The girl sitting beside Bem laughed. "I take it it wasn't a favourable impression?"

Harry shook his head. "He insulted the first person I truly consider a friend and was incredibly disrespectful as well as telling outright lies."

She leant forward. "Oh?"

Harry nodded. "He was saying he was Harry Potter's best friend and that they had arranged to meet on the train."

The girl lifted an eyebrow. "He's been saying he's Potter's best friend the whole time he's been here too. I take it you know that wasn't true?"

Harry nodded. "He grew up in a muggle area being told magic isn't real. He relatives hate magic in all shapes and forms as well as anything not considered 'normal'. He only found out the magical world existed when he got his Hogwarts letter and since then he's pressed charges against the Dursleys and Dumbledore before disappearing to recover from ten years of horrendous abuse. He and Ron never met."

The girl nodded and chuckled. "I figured as much. Barely anyone believes him. I knew it wasn't true." She turned to the red-faced-red-head. "You're a horrible liar." She looked back at Harry. "I'm Fae, by the way. Fae Dunbar."

Harry nodded respectfully to her as he would have had to reach across Bem to shake her hand and that would have been very rude. "Nice to meet you."

She smiled before looking down at his waist. "So... You know how to use those things?" she nodded to his swords.

The rest of dinner passed far too quickly in Harry's opinion. As he was still talking to Fae he followed the lions up to their common room and after assuring them he was allowed in settled down on the couches in front of the fireplace. Before he knew it, curfew was fast approaching and Harry had to leave if he wanted to get back to his rooms in time. He invited Fae to join him, Neville, Hermione and Luna on their morning runs and she leapt at the opportunity. Apparently she wanted to be an Auror and was glad for the excuse to keep fit.

As Harry made his way back to his rooms he looked sideways at Zelos who was walking through the portraits beside him with his hands laced behind his head. "You did good back there. You're not as bad as I thought you would be based on what you said."

Harry nodded and smiled. "Thank you. Did I do anything wrong?"

Zelos hummed. "Well, for your first time with the group you tended to focus mostly on that girl, Fae. You could have at least met the other first year girls."

Harry nodded. "Right. You're right. I met all the boys but I only met Fae out of the girls. I will try to meet the others soon."

Zelos nodded. "You should sit at the Slytherin table tomorrow. You've sat with the others."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just don't want to have to deal with Malfoy. He seems really arrogant and he was picking a fight with Hermione for no reason."

Zelos nodded. "Yeah, I get that. I had to deal with a lot of people like that in the palace. So far the Slytherins seem the type to put on false pretences and wear masks like mine and Colette's to try and find other people's week spots and protect their own."

Harry tilted his head. "Really?"

Zelos nodded. "Navigating the political scene is more dangerous than any sword fight. You have to keep your own weaknesses completely hidden. That's harder than in a sword fight. In a fight you're only affected by what is there at that moment. In politics, they go for what you hold close to your heart, the people important to you. They dig up your past and air it out where everyone can see or use it as blackmail."

Harry winced and nodded. "I get it. Politics sounds more dangerous than I thought."

Zelos nodded. "Lucky for you, you have a wonderful and amazing teacher to guide you through the mess that is politics."

"Indeed, Zelos. Perhaps you are neglecting to remember I am a Duke?" Harry looked over the see Regal walking in a portrait on the other side of the corridor. "We will be teaching him together."

Harry smirked and chuckled at Zelos' pout. When he got to his rooms he pulled out the medical books Madam Pomfrey gave him and put them on the bookcase in the study with his school books before he went downstairs. He walked over to the shooting arena where Raine and Genis were waiting. He listened patiently as Genis lectured him. He blushed when he realised he had been shaping the mana wrong this entire time. When he cast the spells he smiled when they were much easier and didn't take as much Mana to cast.

He spent several hours casting spells until he could barely stand before he went upstairs and took a hot shower before taking a long bath. He tipped his head back and sighed heavily. He had never had this at the Dursleys. The closest he got to being allowed to wash was the few times his Aunt had hauled him out into the garden and attacked him with the hose or told him to scrub his hair in the kitchen sink after handing him a bar of floor soap.

He shuddered and scrubbed his skin with the soap that had been sitting on the side of the bath.

After he dragged himself out of the bath he went into his living room. He had intended to go into the study but found himself staring at the window instead. He really wanted to fly. A glance as the time had him sighing and walking into the study anyway. It was too late to fly, the sun would be rising soon. Someone might see him.

He spent a few hours studying and was delighted to note he managed to read a lot more than he normally could. At six he smiled and let Neville in and the two of them went downstairs. After introductions they got straight to work. Regal started Neville off lightly and let him rest after about ten minutes while he directed Harry to a more intense workout. Neville got back up after about fifteen minutes and did a bit more work before taking a break again.

About an hour into the work out Neville sighed heavily. "Sorry. I'm wasting your time."

Harry shook his head. "No, you've just never done this before." he walked over to the weight machines and set them to a light work out before starting. "You'll get into shape in no time, really. You're doing better than I expected."

Neville grimaced. "Really?"

Harry nodded. "You got back up." he smiled over to the boy. "I mean no offence but I honestly thought you would only do the first ten minutes before waiting until I had finished my workout to go outside for our run. The fact you got back up shows you are actually serious about this and intend to improve. You want to get better so you will."

Neville blushed. "I'm such a wimp."

Harry shook his head. "No you're not. If you were a wimp you wouldn't have offered to get up this early and work out with me. You wouldn't have gotten back up. I underestimated you, Neville. I'm glad."

Neville smiled shyly and followed Regal's direction to a new pose. "Thanks. What are those things?"

Harry chuckled breathlessly. "These are weight machines. They're common in the muggle world in gyms."

Neville looked them over speculatively. "Can I try?"

Regal shook his head. "Those ones are specifically designed for Harry. We can get some suited for you in here but those ones have runes on them specifically for Harry."

Harry nodded. "I'm stronger than any human you'll meet." He sat up slightly and grinned. "I could lift you easily. These ones weight a lot more than you do." He jerked a thumb at the weights behind him.

Neville raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Harry gently lifted the bar back to its rest position and walked over the Neville, easily lifting the rotund boy into his arms. "Easy."

Neville blushed heavily so Harry set him back down. The rest of the work out passed in companionable silence with only the occasional exchange of words as they both focused on their work.

When they finished they both went down to the entrance hall. Harry smiled at Hermione and Luna as they arrived first. "Hey, we're just waiting for one more and we can go."

Hermione lifted an eyebrow, her hair somehow tied back into a pony tail. "Really? Who?"

Harry nodded. "Fae Dunbar. First year Gryffindor. She wants to be an Auror and wants to keep fit so I invited her to join us. I hope that's okay?" he added the question hesitantly.

Luna nodded. "You are not our friend only. You can be friends with other people too. Besides, I quite like spending time with lots of people."

Harry smiled and nodded. Fae arrived a moment later. "Sorry, you weren't waiting long were you?" she was wearing a proper workout outfit complete with trainers.

Harry smiled. "No. We only got here ourselves a moment ago." He gestured to the two ravens. "This is Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood." He smiled as the three girls introduced themselves. "Shall we?" the four nodded and the five of them made their way outside. They headed over to the Quidditch pitch and Harry showed them all how to warm up properly before they took a light jog around the pitch.

By the end of the half hour Hermione had managed half a lap more than yesterday, Neville one more lap, Luna did thirteen laps and Fae had managed to do fifteen. Again, Harry hadn't bothered to count again.

The five of them went back inside and Harry bid the other four goodbye as he headed back to his rooms. He had a long shower before going down to the great hall for breakfast and sitting with the Slytherins.

As he predicted, they tried to pry for information. He was a lot more closed off to them than he was with the other houses but he didn't shut them out completely.

After breakfast he asked Luna if she would show him around the castle since he didn't get a tour like the rest of the students.

He spent the whole day with the half-spirit, talking about everything and nothing before retiring to his rooms just before curfew. He did some magic practice until about one in the morning before taking off out his window and flying until just before sunrise. He made sure to stay high in the air and out of view.

When he flew back in through his window there was a knock at the door. A quick glance at the clock revealed it to be five o'clock. He opened the door and tilted his head in question. "Professor Sinistra?" he stood to the side and beckoned her in, sitting in one of the armchairs while she took a seat on the couch. "What brings you here at this time?"

The professor bit her lip slightly. "Well, Mr Irving, I'm here... well, that is to say... last night..." she sighed and shook her head, "I saw you out flying last night."

Harry felt his blood run cold.

She knew.

Am I explaining everything very well in this story or are you all just not asking questions? If you don't understand something, put it in a review and I will answer it in my next chapter. (I do actually read the reviews.)


	13. Chapter 13

I am so sorry for the long wait.

My laptop died about four or five times. Then I got ill, then the Easter holidays started (or spring break?) and since I'm a childminder the school holidays are the busiest time for me. I've been doing a bit of editing in previous chapters and found a few plot points I'd added and forgotten about. Fixed it now.

Thank you so much for persevering with me and being so patient, though next time I'm gone for too long send a review to remind me I'm supposed to be writing. I forget sometimes... sorry.

Anyway, here's the next chapter... way too late...

I'm sorry don't kill me...

Also, if any random b or c show up, that's not my fault, my laptop occasionally adds them and I don't know why. Especially since the v key is between b and c on the keyboard.

It may be a while before I can post again as my 'w' 's' and 'x' keys keep not working. I managed to find some to copy and paste here to let you know. It is also why this chapter is so short. (You don't realize how often you use a letter until it stops working.)

**Foreman88:** '_They never went over the results of Harry's._' ... um... oops? Yeah, I forgot about that. Fixed now! Thanks for the reminder.

*****Story start*****

"Are you sure? That's him?"

"There's no doubt. There are too many coincidences. It has to be."

"So how long do we have."

"I don't know."

"You don't know? How can you not know?"

"It's not clear enough. I can't tell how much longer exactly. I know what time of the year, but how many years from now? I can't say."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. It'll happen one way or another. Fate is cruel."

"Life is cruel. Fate is a bitch."

"Yeah..."

"What do we do about the spirit?"

"There's nothing we can do. It's in his hands now. All we can do is wait."

"I hate waiting."

"I know. But it can't be helped."

.oOo.

Harry sat back in his chair. His thoughts raced across his mind. She knew. She knew he was an angel. Panic began to build. What would she do now? Would she tell anyone? Would she blackmail him? No, she's a teacher... she wouldn't... would she? Oh Martel, what was he going to do? Why was she looking at him like that? Was she going to send him somewhere for study? Muggles did that in movies. Did the wizarding world do that too? Was he going to be experimented on? To find out what he was or how it was possible?

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I wish there was something we could have done..."

Harry looked at her, panic now reaching almost unbearable levels. Oh Martel she was going to send him away. He was going to be kicked out.

"Why didn't you tell us you were dead?"

He blinked and tilted his head in confusion, still panicking. "W-what?"

She looked visibly upset. "That's why you don't need to eat, isn't it? They killed you."

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly; panic slowly giving way to confusion.

Professor Sinistra sighed and leant forwards, resting her elbows on her knees. "I guess someone up there must really want you to stay here. First you survive the killing curse and now they send you back as an angel?" she sighed and shook her head. "It's slightly unfair, really." They were both silent for a long while before the professor lifted her head again. "So why didn't you tell us?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm... not dead, professor."

The professor tilted her head. "I saw your wings, Mr Potter. You're an angel, right?"

Harry nodded and took his wings out. The professor looked at them in awe for a moment before forcing her gaze back to Harry. Harry sighed and folded them behind his back but didn't put them away.

The professor sighed and looked down. "You're one of heaven's angels?" she looked up at him with her eyes shining with a profound sadness.

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm still alive. I'm not an angel of god or anything like that. I'm a different type of angel. The only ones who know anything about my kind of angel are the people in these portraits but even then..." Harry trailed off and shrugged. "They don't know that much. Oh, that reminds me. Professor, did you finish analysing those scans?"

Raine blushed. "Ah. Um, yes, I did."

Harry tilted his head. "And?"

"Well, I finished reading them over but with nothing to compare them to... I was unable to understand what the results actually meant. I don't know what is typical for a human in this world, or what is typical for a wizard so I cannot say what the results are, exactly..."

Harry sighed. "I see..."

There was a sigh from the founders' portrait and everyone turned to look. None of the founders had been back since they left a few days ago.

Godric shook his head. "Let me explain then. And listen carefully because I'm only going to say this once. Your mana growth is double what any other human's is. That means your mana will grow twice as fast in addition to it just being so much larger. Your senses will be significantly increased. You might not have noticed since it was a gradual thing but now that you're around other people you'll see it more. Your eyesight, hearing and sense of smell are far better than any human, even a werewolf."

Harry nodded. "Right."

"You will also age like an angel."

Harry grimaced. "Oh..."

Professor Sinistra tilted her head. "What does that mean?"

Harry turned to look at her. "I won't age."

Godric sighed. "It's not that you won't age. It's that you'll age with a half life. If you didn't age at all you would still look eight."

Harry looked back over at Godric. "Half life? What does that mean?"

Godric hummed for a moment. "A full, normal life is one for one. In ten years, you will age ten years. A half life means that each time period halves. An angel's is in periods of fifteen years. So, since you changed at eight, at twenty three you'll look twenty three. At thirty eight you'll look thirty. At fifty three you'll look thirty four. At sixty eight you'll look thirty six. You'll stop aging around thirty seven or so."

Harry sighed and nodded. "I see... How do you know so much?"

Godric bit his lip slightly and looked to the side. "The guy who went to Aselia came back to my time so I know a lot about angels and stuff." Godric looked to the side slightly. "A lot of people think that if you live for a long time that people with a shorter lifespan seem to live for 'the blink of an eye'. They're wrong. Time doesn't move any differently. If you isolate yourself due to your lifespan you're setting yourself up to an eternity of pain and loneliness."

Harry nodded slowly. "Okay, I can see that."

Godric nodded. "Your spells will be stronger than a human's would be, if any humans could use their mana without killing themselves that is. Your angelic traits are also hereditary. You children will be half-angels. They'll age faster than you will but they will outlive any other species by far."

Harry frowned and nodded. "Right... I see..."

Godric looked to the side. "I would suggest getting a job that lets you hide your identity or working in the background, away from the public eye."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense." He shrugged. "If I'm gonna live forever then I can learn pretty much everything so I guess I could earn the qualifications for just about any job."

Godric nodded. "Your possibilities are endless. But try not to learn everything too fast. You will get bored."

Harry nodded. "Alright. Anything else?"

Godric nodded. "Eating and sleeping. You don't need to eat and I would suggest you don't. Your body won't take any nutrients from the food so everything you eat will go to waste. You will find that if you eat you will need to go to the bathroom much more often than a human who eats the same amount. Don't eat. As for sleeping, sleep is the body's way of recovering energy and letting your mind rest and sort through everything that had happened. As an angel your body heals itself faster than a human's does, though I doubt you would have noticed, since you cast healing spells on yourself if you get hurt."

Harry smiled sheepishly.

Godric shook his head. "While you were at the Dursleys' most of your time was spent doing dull, monotonous tasks that allowed your mind to process everything then, so you didn't need to sleep to rest your mind. After the trials you slept because there had been so many changes and you hadn't let yourself take a break and let your mind process everything you fell asleep to rest your mind. You are able to sleep occasionally but the less new information and excitement you go through, the less you need to sleep."

Harry nodded. "Right. That makes sense."

Godric nodded. "I will inform you if I remember anything else but do not ask me about it." He then turned and walked out of the portrait after sending Harry's wings a strange look.

Harry sighed. "Right..." he looked back at Professor Sinistra. "The founders don't like angels. When they first found out about this, they all acted strangely and then vanished. This is the first time I have seen one of them in two days and they have barely left these frames since the start of term." They sat in silence for a moment. "Professor, I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this. I'm not ready for anyone to know."

Professor Sinistra nodded. "Yes, I can understand that. I would just ask that you be more careful flying at night. My astronomy classes are at midnight till one every night. After that students are just going to bed so I would suggest waiting until at least two o'clock before going out and maybe flying over the forest instead of the castle. Anything flying above the castle will be noticed but anything flying above the forest will be dismissed."

Harry nodded. "Alright. Thank you."

Just then there was a knock at his door. Harry looked over at the clock. "Oh, that will be Neville." He stood up and went to walk over to the door.

"Mr Irving." He looked back to Sinistra as she was standing. "Wings."

Harry blushed slightly and put his wings away. "Thanks. This is the second time I've done that." He walked over and opened the door. "Neville, Fae, come on in." They all stepped out of the entry hallway. "I wasn't expecting you, Fae."

Neville blushed. "Sorry. I invited her. Was that okay? Sorry."

Harry gently gripped Neville's shoulder. "It's fine Neville. I was going to invite her later anyway." He turned to Fae, "I also do gymnastics every other day if you want to join in with those. Hermione and Luna already join in to those, you would be welcome to join us."

Fae smiled. "Gymnastics?"

Harry nodded. "You never know when those skills might be needed as an Auror."

Fae smiled. "Sure. Same time?"

Harry nodded. "Yep."

Professor Sinistra hummed. "Gymnastics? What is that?" Harry looked slightly lost so Fae explained. "Ah, I see. Hmm, perhaps I could speak to the headmistress and we can arrange a proper club."

Harry nodded. "It would have to be _before_ a meal time. You can't exercise after eating."

Fae nodded. "In the muggle world if the club is at a weekend it is early morning, if it is a school club then it's after classes once a week."

Professor Sinistra nodded. "I see. Well, I shall speak to the headmistress about this. Good day to you all." She nodded to them each in turn and left.

Fae turned to look at Harry. "Why was one of the Professors here?"

Harry smirked slightly. "That's Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher. She had something important to discuss with me."

Fae chuckled. "Right. Astronomer. My uncle is an astronomer. I only get to see him a couple times a month." She whined then grimaced slightly. "Sorry. I didn't mean..."

Harry tilted his head. "Hm?"

Fae sighed. "Sorry. I don't mean to... Neville mentioned you don't..."

Harry blinked for a moment before understanding what she meant. He smiled and gently gripped her shoulder briefly. "Hey, don't worry about it. No harm done. Just because I don't have a family doesn't mean I get sulky whenever anyone else talks about theirs. I'm an orphan. Nothing will change that so I don't see why my friends have to pretend they don't have a family."

Fae smiled. "Thanks."

Harry shrugged. "Anyway. Let's get to working out, shall we?" the other two nodded and they went downstairs where Regal was waiting and began their workout. An hour and a half later they were heading downstairs to the entrance hall to meet Luna and Hermione.

Thankfully the rest of the first week passed easily. Harry properly met all of his year mates and had invited a few more people to join him on his morning runs.

A lot of people were surprised when Millicent Bulstrode joined them for their runs. Apparently she was the thin one in her family but now sees how out of shape she was. Especially after having to walk across the castle. She was interested in losing weight and getting fit. Harry thought for a moment before inviting her to join him in the training sessions in the mornings before the runs.

The older students that were part of the quidditch teams asked if they could join in the runs too.

Harry ended up moving the time to half an hour earlier so they had an hour to run as with only a half hour, they were just finishing warming up when they had to do the cool downs and go in for breakfast. He ended up dropping the early session on Sundays so he had an hour of free time before going down for his morning run.

Surprisingly, even though many of the quidditch players were from rival house teams they all got on well during the runs except the Slytherins as none of the team joined them.

Finally it was Monday morning and the staff were delighted to see the students were much calmer and seemed less likely to spend so much time whispering to each other instead of paying attention. Harry was currently seated at the Slytherin table.

Millicent looked up from her breakfast. "What's up Harry? You seem on edge."

Harry smiled slightly. "Nervous I guess. You guys are going to class today. Today, I only have a session in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey after breakfast and then Potions after lunch with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. It's not a very busy day but..." He looked over to where Malfoy was sitting with Crabbe and Goyle. "I haven't had any kind of schooling since I was eight. I don't know how to write essays. I can't really write at all actually. I try to write with a quill and it just... goes wrong."

Tracy smiled. "No worries Harry. I can teach you how. My mum's muggle so I grew up using muggle stationary but Dad taught me how to use a quill when I was nine. I can teach you, easy. What time are you free this morning?"

"From about ten thirty. Thanks Tracy."

She smiled. "Hey, no problem. This is an important skill to know. Besides, when the staff find out they will assign someone to help you anyway and they probably won't be as nice about it. I'll meet you in the library at around ten thirty."

Harry smiled. "Thanks." He looked up as the mail arrived. He collected his papers and pocketed them, keeping the Daily Scroll out to read.

Daphne tilted her head. "Why do you get so many papers?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know anything about the wizarding world so I thought I should buy a range of different papers. I cancelled my subscription to the Daily Prophet. It's just a gossip mag. The Daily Scroll has actual news."

Daphne tilted her head. "I didn't know there were so many papers. I thought it was just the prophet and the quibbler."

Harry shook his head. "No. There are loads of newspapers. And then there are the magazines like quidditch weekly, Potions monthly, Charms monthly. If you ask one of the professors they might be able to help you get a subscription to one of them. I saw a couple of discarded copies of some of them the few times I've been in the staff room."

Daphne nodded. "So, The Daily Scroll is kind of like the Daily Prophet?"

Harry nodded and passed it over to her. "Yeah, but the reporters give out actual news and facts instead of speculation and opinion."

Daphne nodded and started looking through the paper. Harry pulled out his copy of 'The Fuzzy Owl' and passed it to Tracy. "You might like this one. It's all good things."

Tracy took it and looked it over. "Like what?"

Harry shrugged. "Fluffy stuff. The last issue had a story about an orphaned baby bunny that got adopted by a mother cat." Several girls around the table 'aww'ed so Harry pulled out a couple of older issues and passed them around. Harry smirked at their faces. "There's a bit at the back you can fill in and owl to get your own subscription. If you want." He laughed at the sudden sound of tearing paper as anyone with a copy tore out the back page.

Soon enough the heads of house came down the aisles and handed out the student's time tables and Harry's magazines were passed back. There was a bit more chatter before students started drifting out to collect their books and go to class. Harry waved his friends goodbye and headed up to the hospital wing.

Once there Madam Pomfrey sent him to the bathroom the clean up before starting on his tasks, all the while monologing. "This early in the year we don't have many students coming in but I like to keep everything clean and sterilized anyway. You never know when someone might need help. Now that Professor Snape isn't being controlled by Dumbledore there is no telling what may happen in his classes. There hasn't been a serious accident in potions since he started teaching. All the previous potions teachers, as far as I know, have had some pretty bad injuries in class. A lot of students have died or been disfigured, dismembered, permanently scarred, blinded. The least that used to happen was a student spending a week or so here, but since Severus started teaching the injuries have dropped significantly."

Harry nodded along and listened as she talked. She moved on from ranting about previous potions teachers to talking about previous students that used to frequent her wing. She seemed to be glossing over his father and his victims but Harry knew enough from his parent's journals to know his dad had sent far too many people here from one of his 'pranks'.

Just as Harry was finishing up to go, a third year came in and walked up to Madam Pomfrey. She waved Harry over so he came and stood just behind her as she directed the student to the bed. "So, what seems to be the problem Mister Towler. It's wasn't those twins again was it?"

"No ma'am. I think it's just indigestion but it really hurts."

Madam Pomfrey nodded and waved her wand a bit. "Mr Irving, what do you think?"

Harry tilted his head and cast a diagnostic Valerian helped him develop. "Um... looks like indigestion."

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Correct. Easy enough solved, just a simple potion." She went over to a cupboard and unlocked it, bringing out a potion before locking it back up. She poured a bit of the potion in the glass of water on the bedside table next to Towler. "Drink this. Slowly mind." She turned back around and replaced the potion in the cupboard, locking it behind her again.

When she came back she turned to Harry. "Now, Mr Irving. I think we are done here for today. As the school year progresses the hospital wing gets busier so you'll have more to do in the coming months. For now, I believe it is time for you to go. Make sure to read up on diagnostics and common charms used in a hospital ward."

Harry nodded. "Alright. I'll see you Friday then." He waved to Towler and left the hospital wing. He easily found the library and looked around for Tracy's mana. Not finding her he went off to find a table and pulled out his mother's journal. It was about ten minutes later that Tracy came in and sat down.

"Sorry about that. Didn't think it would take me this long to get here from class."

Harry smiled slightly. "No problem. Shall we?"

Tracy grinned slightly and Harry felt a slight shudder down his spine. By the time they headed down to the hall for lunch Harry's hand was cramping up and he regretted buying any quills that summer. Just as they were about to enter the great hall Professor Snape walked up to them.

"Mr Irving, a word?"

Harry nodded. "Of course Professor. See you in class Tracy." Tracy waved and Harry followed professor Snape down to his office. The walls were covered in books and bottles and jars in cabinets. There was a fireplace to one side with an empty portrait above it and a short sofa and chair with a low coffee table in front of it.

Towards the back of the room was the Professor's desk. Harry took a seat in front of it while Professor Snape sat in his chair behind the desk. "We need to talk about you invading my mind during the welcoming feast Mister Irving."

Harry nodded. "Yes sir. I wasn't trying to read your thoughts or look at your memories. I just do that to get to know each person's... magical fingerprint? Everyone's magic is different. Twins are the closest a from looking at some of the families here I can see that blood relations are close too, not as close as twins but close enough."

"And you have to invade everyone's mind to do so? You realise that is classed as mind rape and is punishable by time in Azkaban?"

Harry nodded. "Only if I use legilimency sir. Telepathy is different."

"Telepathy?" Professor Snape's eyes widened. "You're a telepath? No wonder you were able to get through my oclumency barriers..."

Harry nodded. "Sir, I was able to find a lot of things on oclumency and legilimency but I couldn't find anything on telepaths. Do you know much about them?"

Snape stood up. "I can do one better. Wait a moment." He walked over and began searching his shelves. He eventually returned with two books. "This one is everything a telepath needs to know about their ability. This one is a comparison between telepathy and legilimency. Now, while a telepath is able to get through any Oclumency barrier without even trying, their mind is naturally open. You will need to learn one of the shielding techniques in this book," he held up the first one, "in order to shield your mind from intrusion."

Harry nodded. "Thank you sir."

Snape nodded. "Now, we need to talk about your magic. It is dangerous for someone's magic to be out of control during a potions class. It can make your potion go out of control and explode, even if you brew it perfectly."

Harry nodded. "Alright sir. What can I do?"

"Under no circumstances are you to touch your wand or staff during class. If your magic interferes with your brewing or that of your classmates I will have to remove you from my class completely."

Harry nodded. "Right. I understand."

Snape nodded. "Good. You may go."

Harry nodded and stood. "See you in class, sir." He closed the office door behind him and headed up to his rooms. He got the timer out of his potions kit and set it for half an hour and began to read the first book professor Snape had given him. When the timer went off he stopped it and collected his potions things before heading down to the dungeon.

He arrived just before Professor Snape slammed the door open and bid the class to enter. Harry sat next to Tracy who gave him a worried glance but he smiled and she nodded slightly. They looked to the front as Professor Snape stood in front of his desk.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making." He began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper. "As there is little wand waving in this class some of you will hardly believe this to be magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. I can teach you how to brew fame, bottle glory and even put a stopper in death."

More silence followed this speech. Everyone was hanging on his every word. "For the first few lessons we will be going over ingredient preparation. After that, we will begin with brewing. The first thing we will brew is the cure for boils, make sure you read your books and study the instructions. Now," Snape walked behind the desk and waved his wand over it. The blackboard suddenly lit up showing the desk from above, enlarged so the entire class could see. "The most common brewing technique you will use is stirring."

.oOo.

Harry sat on the sofa in his room and sighed. He had finished potions that day and then spent half an hour explaining to Tracy that he was fine and he ate in his rooms after Professor Snape had given him a book about one of his abilities. He then went to study hall with the other first years. Professor Stroud was there and taught them all how to write an essay.

"A good essay is like a girl's skirt. Long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting. As a teacher, I would much rather mark a short essay that sais all it needs to than wade my way through a long one that has loads more information than I asked for. You won't get a better mark. All it will do is give me a headache and take me longer to mark, meaning I have less time for my other duties. Keep it short, but make sure you cover everything you need to."

Harry tried to follow this but found it hard to figure out what to write.

An hour later Daphne took pity on him. She took a blank sheet of parchment and told Harry to talk her through the question. As he spoke, she wrote down what he said. She then handed it back and told him to re-write it in essay structure.

It took him the rest of the study session to finish and his was shorter then everyone else's. He managed to beg off of dinner by saying he wanted to read some more of his parents' journals.

It was getting harder to avoid being in the great hall at meal times or arrive late enough that he could pretend to have already eaten.

He shook his head and picked up the book on Telepathy. He wanted to know more about his ability.

Sorry it's so short. Three of my keys stopped working. I'm having to copy and paste x, s and w so I have to end it here. Sorry.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey everyone. Sorry for the late chapter.

Life has been a bitch lately and work got on top of me, along with looking for another job because I hate the one I have right now.

There was also an unexpected death in the family that took a lot of my attention and we realised that a lot of my mum's family is going to be dying now, with them all being in the late 80's, plus my dad's parents are old and my mum's mum being very ill at the moment...

Things are pretty hectic.

I'll try to get chapters out faster. I've put **The Art of Belonging** and **Centaur in Symphonia** on hiatus for a while since they are getting a lot less attention from you all so I'll finish those later. I was also viciously attacked by an idea I had from a while ago that I had to write out to get it out of my head... it ended up twelve chapters and it's not done yet but I hit a road block so I can shove it aside and focus on the three I have going on at the moment. (But seriously, 12 chapters in three days? That's impressive.)

Good news, my laptop is repaired so no problems on that end.

Extra thanks to **foxchick1**for reminding me to write.

Harry looked up at the ceiling as the owls arrived with the post. It was now Sunday morning. He'd managed to make his way through his first week of classes, barely. He collected his newspapers and tilted his head at a letter from Gringotts.

_Lord Irving,_

_We are writing to you in regards to several abnormalities we have noticed in your accounts during a thorough search and inventory following the results of an investigation to certain allegations. We ask that you come in at your earliest convenience._

_Lord Ragnarock, Gringotts Bank._

Harry hummed and put the letter in his pocket. He walked up to the head table and stepped up in front of the headmistress.

McGonagall looked up at him. "How can I help you, Mister Irving?"

Harry bowed his head slightly. "I just received a summons from Gringotts. It seems important. May I have permission to leave the school for today? I don't know how long it will take but I will return as soon as I can."

McGonagall sat forward slightly. "I cannot let you leave the campus alone..." she looked around the staff table. "Aurora, you are free today right?"

She nodded. "Yes, I would be happy to escort Mister Irving." She stood up. "Shall we?" Harry nodded and waited for her to walk around the table before they left. He could hear everyone whispering about it, although... whisper might be a relative term. In the two weeks since school began he was still the topic of everyone's conversations. Though from most of the girls he got the impression it wasn't going to change any time soon.

Harry glanced up at Professor Sinistra. She looked tired. He could understand why, their breakfast was probably her dinner, having been up till one in the morning teaching and then grading if she didn't go to bed right after class like the students did... "Professor, am I dragging you away from your bed?"

Sinistra looked down at him. "Not really. I'll go to bed in a few hours. I prefer to be available in the mornings so students can find me if they need me."

Harry nodded. "Right. That is good, than."

Sinistra smiled slightly. "Thank you, for your concern, though, Mr Irving."

Harry inclined his head towards her and they travelled in comfortable silence all the way to the edge of the castle grounds. Sinistra turned to him, "So, Mr Irving. Do you have any preferred way of travel?"

Harry thought for a moment. He'd travelled by floo before but he'd never experienced other methods of travel. He told his professor as much.

She smirked. "Apparition would be easiest."

Harry nodded. "Alright. I don't know how though."

Professor Sinistra nodded. "I know. I can side-along you."

Harry nodded and took the offered arm. The world seemed to vanish in a swirl of colours and an intense pressure seemed to press in on every side of him. It felt kind of like being squeezed through a tight tube. It ended as abruptly as it began and Harry took a deep breath, looking around. They were standing in a bit of alleyway beside the Leakey Cauldron.

Professor Sinistra looked them both over briefly before nodding. "Shall we?"

Harry nodded and led the way towards the bank. At the doors he nodded to the guards who bowed at his entrance. A goblin approached them as soon as they were inside.

"Lord Irving, I have been sent to lead you down to Lord Ragnarock's office."

Harry nodded. "Of course. Lead on." They travelled down several hallways and deeper into the bank than Harry had been before, minus his trip to the goblin city.

Eventually they came to a huge set of double doors and their guide turned around. "Only Lord Irving from here."

Harry and Professor Sinistra shared a look before the teacher nodded. Harry stepped into the room and cast a glance around. It was heavily decorated with gold, silver, platinum and a whole load if precious gems adorning various different vases, statues and other random ornaments and decorations. The desk was absolutely huge and had a collection of ornaments arranged at the sides. In the centre there was a pile of paperwork and scrolls. The goblin behind the desk was one Harry recognised vaguely before he remembered.

"Lord Ragnarock?" Harry half questioned, half greeted with a bow. This goblin was the one he'd seen dealing with the minister, Lord Malfoy and those reporters the day Gringotts had been broken into.

"Lord Irving." Ragnarock sat back in his chair and gestured for Harry to sit. "I see the stories of you are true. You hold as much respect for goblins as you do for your own people."

Harry smirked. "Irving vow number 134: Compassion Benefits all Men." Ragnarock narrowed his eyes slightly so Harry elaborated. "It basically means that everyone would be better off with a little love and understanding. I think that being different species isn't as much a barrier as people believe it to be."

Ragnarock smirked and nodded slowly. "You are more than I had believed."

Harry tilted his head in confusion for a moment.

Ragnarock shook his head. "The reason you were called in today was to discuss our findings in some investigations."

"Investigations?" Harry tilted his head in the other direction.

"Indeed. When you read your parents' wills we discovered a number of things that should have been done a long time ago, as well as a number of things that had been erased from the memories of those involved. We have since then updated our security and taken measures to ensure this doesn't happen again."

Harry leant forwards. "What do you mean?"

"Memories were tampered with and your parents' wills were claimed to be sealed. They weren't. The people in the wills departments had had their memories tampered with so they believed that the potter's will had already been read and those who had access to the will were led to believe it was sealed. It would seem Hookfang had even had all memories of the will itself removed, otherwise he would not have let this injustice happen. There have been other cases where wills have been sealed. They have all been read now and the correct assets are being transferred to where they need to go."

Harry nodded. "That's good. It's not right people should be denied their families last wishes."

Ragnarock nodded. "Indeed, though a lot of them were ones sealed in the last ten years. If someone has no living family then when they die the ministry takes everything. And by living family, they mean magical family. If someone has a squib child and die, the child gets nothing. The laws are worded quiet sneakily so it's perfectly legal. In several cases people who had lost all of their family in the war made a will leaving everything they had, to you."

"M-me?" Harry leant backwards in his chair. "Why?"

"You are the one who defeated the dark lord that killed their families. They didn't want to leave everything they had to the corrupt ministry that allowed a dark lord to rise in the first place. Now, when we uncovered those wills we traced the money that had been taken and found it and all the items and properties in the hands of several pureblood families, all influential in the ministry and all accused death eaters. Everything has been recovered and added to your own vaults. The houses have been re-warded and everything in them now belongs to you."

Harry nodded. "Right." He shook his head slowly. "So... I'm richer now than I was before?"

"Yes."

Harry leant backwards in his chair and bit his lip slightly, trying to wrap his mind around it. He shook his head slowly, vowing to leave it for another time.

Ragnarock looked over the papers on his desk briefly. "In order to ensure no one's wills are sealed again we have created a department within the bank for the storage of wills and inheritance. Everyone who works there is sworn to secrecy about their job to prevent memory tampering and the department itself is under heavy charms so it cannot be found. Whenever anyone makes a will the original is sent to that department, they are given a copy, and a copy is sent to the ministry as well as one stored in their main vault. A few of our wealthier clients, or those we believe may be cheated after their death have been asked to come in and re-write their wills, to be certain everything is in order."

Harry nodded. That all made sense though he didn't quite know why he was being told all of this.

"There was one property left to you, and its contents, that I wished to discuss with you." He slid over a file.

Harry opened it up and looked at the name of the property on the first page. "Rosemary cottage?"

"The owner of this estate wrote out his will, leaving everything to you the day after you defeated the Dark Lord. The next day he was found dead and his will nowhere to be found. The ministry claimed all of his wealth and all of it fell into the hands of Lucius Malfoy within hours. He gifted this cottage to the Greengrass family just before his trial. They had gone into hiding a few months previous when their house had been destroyed. They have lived in this house ever since. Their older daughter, Daphne, is in your year at Hogwarts. The younger sister is two years younger."

Harry sat back. "So, if I take this house... they'll have nowhere to go?"

Ragnarock nodded. "Indeed. In addition, when Mister Malfoy gave them the house, the house was all he gave them. It had been completely stripped down. They had to buy everything. Plaster and paint for the walls, the carpets, even patches of floor had been ripped up that needed repair. This family has built this house from the bare frame into a family home."

Harry nodded. "It's not fair to take their family home from them and I don't need any more properties so I won't really miss one cottage."

Ragnarock nodded. "Indeed. Now, you have two choices. Either you take the property and charge them rent, obviously significantly less than they are paying now as they are being dramatically overcharged by Mister Malfoy, or you can sign the property straight over to them."

Harry was about to answer when he stopped and looked the files over again as a stray thought caught in his mind. He remembered an incident where one of Vernon's colleagues had accidentally overcharged a customer and the company had to refund the difference. "If I take it and charge them rent... would I be able to back pay them the difference in rent from when they started paying, citing that they were overcharged and the bank wishes to compensate them for the difference?"

Ragnarock froze for a moment before he blinked slowly. "Indeed we can."

Harry nodded. "I could even sign the house over to them afterwards so they won't have to pay me any rent at all."

Ragnarock leant backwards in his chair. "You are a curious individual... not only are you turning away the chance to earn money from their rent, you are willing to lower it, pay the difference for the last ten years and then sign over the property completely, cutting off one good source of income."

Harry nodded and shrugged one shoulder. "Well, I don't need the money. And I don't want to just live off of what's in there so I will probably get a job after leaving school and earn more money anyway." Plus there were his investments and the fact that he was going to live for a long time. Money was not an issue.

Ragnarock nodded. "A good philosophy. That is one of the reasons the Potter Family is so rich. They believed in hard work and earning your own way in life. It's one of the reasons you have so many vaults with the Potter name. Each person was given their own vault as a child, much like your own vault 713. As they got older the money going into the vault stopped and they had to earn their own way until they were older and their parents let them have access to the family vault. The money in there has just kept rising because no one ever uses it."

Harry nodded slowly. It was a good way of living, never spending more than you can earn even if you have the backup funds to support heavy spending. And it made sure the family always had something to fall back on should they ever need it. He felt a slight warmth fill his chest at hearing more about his heritage. He really didn't know enough about his parents and their lives, other than what he was reading in their diaries every evening.

Ragnarock nodded decisively once before looking the papers over. "Now, we checked over your accounts and all transactions made since your grandparents took ill. At the time no one thought anything of it since they were quite old, however, looking back on it we see that your grandfather had been in perfect health, aside from a physical injury to the leg that prevented him from continuing his career as an Auror. Your grandmother had been showing signs of a weak immune system similar to Muggles and squibs her age, but her magic should have prevented it. That they both fell ill was suspicious in itself.

"We chose to investigate it and found a number of people being paid small sums of money from the accounts. It seemed nothing at first but added up it is a rather alarming total. We followed the money until we hit a dead end where it had been withdrawn from the accounts in cash. By that point the number of accounts the money was in had halved, indicating a smaller number of people, using multiple vaults and accounts. We dug around for a bit more and found the money had been used to purchase things like jewellery or other expensive things. These items have all been reclaimed and have been added to the vault the money had been taken from as we believe the money was taken illegally."

Harry nodded slowly, looking over the sheets the manager slid over to him.

"After discovering this we looked at several other vaults, whose owners died in suspicious circumstances or had mysteriously fallen ill. We found similar things happening with those vaults and were able to find several people responsible for these thefts. Their accounts have been emptied and distributed amongst their victims and they have been told that if they come into the bank again we will mount their heads on a pike outside the doors."

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Isn't that a little... extreme?"

Ragnarock shook his head. "It is part of our agreement with the ministry. If we find anyone trying to steal from us we are allowed to put their head on a pike outside the doors as a warning."

Harry nodded slowly. He was a little more uneasy now that he knew that, though he would never have to worry about it himself as he had no intention of stealing from the bank. "Okay..."

Ragnarock nodded decisively again. "To prevent this from happening again any money transferred unexpectedly from one persons account to another will have a waiting period on it and we will be keeping track, silently, to make sure other payments like this do not happen again. Things like wages, loans or debt repayments won't be affected by the waiting period."

Harry nodded. That was good, but again... why was he being told all of this?

"Now, in terms of loans we have put a cap on the interest rates people are allowed to charge others and have adjusted all of the outstanding loans in our accounts accordingly. We cannot make back payments to these as we only just brought the cap in and any back payments made are the decision of the one who owns the loan. The cap itself is ten percent of the money borrowed if it is under G25,000, 15 percent if it is between G25,000 and G50,000, and 25 percent if it is over G50,000. No interest is to be paid for loans under G5,000."

Harry nodded, wondering if he owed anyone money. He couldn't remember reading anything about loans in his account audits. The meeting carried on for a while with Ragnarock going over everything they found out and the measures the bank has taken to correct the mistakes and put measures in place to ensure it doesn't happen again.

Harry smiled sadly for a moment. This is what the Ministry should have done after Grindelwald was defeated. The laws of the Wizarding world left a lot to be desired from what he read in the books over the summer and various conversations with his friends and year mates. Especially when Hermione gets into debates with purebloods about things.

Sweet Martel, when she heard about house elves!

It caused a school-wide debate on slavery, servants, house elves and things like that. The purebloods were appalled when the Muggleborns admitted that Muggles used to keep other Muggles as slaves just because they had a different skin colour. In the end the teachers gave up trying to get the students to leave the great hall at lunch and spent the afternoon splitting the students into several different groups and having an organised debate between everyone on the subject. They'd even gotten some of the house elves to come up from the kitchens so they could have their say in the matter.

If the ministry had looked at themselves and changed what needed changing then Voldemort might not have come to power.

Eventually Ragnarock finished with the results of the investigations and drew up the paperwork for the changes in Harry's accounts, such as Rosemary Cottage and the changes in the number of vaults each person could have. The vault restriction was created when some people were claiming to have less money than that had due to most of their money being in a vault under a different name. Harry had sorted all his things into the vaults, money and jewellery in one, antiques and furniture in a second and books and paperwork in the third. Any goblin made items in his vaults he agreed to give back to the goblin nation. He decided to leave vault 713 as it was for now. He wasn't ready to merge that one just yet, since his parents had left that vault for him.

Just when he thought he had finished Ragnarock picked up a pile of letters tied off with string. "We have received a large number of letters addressed to Harry Potter. Many of them are people who have asked if they could adopt you, a few have asked for marriage to their daughters, a number of them were cursed letters that have been disposed of and the senders fined for attempting to store dangerous items within the bank. These ones are more personal. They are from friends of your parents and grandparents. Some of them contain pictures of them."

Harry took the stack off him and looked down at them. Here was yet more proof that his parents had once actually existed. Pictures of them during their lives... he swallowed hard and put them in his bag. "Thank you."

Ragnarock nodded and picked up another stack, this one much shorter. "These letters were all sent to you by Sirius Black. He was named your godfather and was your father's best man at your parents' wedding. The first few are asking if you want to go and live with him along with updates on his healing while the rest are simply updates and asking if you would want to meet with him or exchange letters. He sends them daily."

Harry accepted these letters too and looked them over. To be completely honest he hadn't put much thought into the man. He'd been mentioned in both his parents wills as someone to look after him if they died and his father wrote about him all the time in his diary. They had been best friends. He didn't know the man and hadn't really put much thought into him.

"This box is tied into your mail vault. If there are any letters addressed to you that we can forward to you, we will place them in a box in your vault and they will appear in yours."

Harry put Sirius' letters into his bag and looked at the box Ragnarock had placed on the desk. It looked kind of like a bread box. He accepted it gratefully and placed it in his bag, thankful for the expansion charms in it.

"Now, unfortunately you will need to answer the marriage proposals personally and we think you should also answer the ones about adopting you, though that is up to you. Thankfully no one can force you to marry them and adoption is off the table now that you are emancipated, but it is still polite to reply."

Harry nodded. "Yes. Of course. If you can have those ones forwarded I will reply to them all."

Ragnarock nodded. "Or course. And, our last order of business is in regards to Hookfang. As he was one of those affected by memory charms we wished to know if you wanted to keep him as your account manager or change to a different manager?"

Harry tipped his head slightly. "I'm fine with Hookfang. I trust him."

Ragnarock regarded him silently for several moments before nodding. "Very well then, he shall be informed of your decision. This concludes our business for today. Thank you for your time, Lord Irving."

Harry stood and bowed to the goblin. "Always a pleasure, Lord Ragnarock." He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. Professor Sinistra stood up from the chair she was sitting on and smiled at him. Harry wondered in a goblin had brought it or if she'd conjured it. The fact that she left it there seemed to mean that someone had brought it for her.

"Mister Irving. Finished?"

"Yes. We can go back to school now." He smiled at her and led the way out of the bank. Having a good memory he didn't need anyone to lead the way since he remembered how they got there. They left the bank no problem, however there was a group of people waiting outside, some of them had cameras. Harry turned to his teacher who scowled at the group as marched forwards.

"If you could all excuse us, Mister Irving has to get back to school. I'm sure you people don't want to disrupt his education." She made shooing motions and the crowd took a step back but surged forwards when Harry tried to walk forwards.

"Lord Irving, is it true that a Hogwarts apprentice is keyed into Hogwarts wards?"

"Is it true you've been learning magic from Merlin's ghost?"

"How long have you been Merlin's apprentice?"

"Where have you been studying before Hogwarts?"

"Why go to Hogwarts when you have such a high standard of education?"

"Do you have any idea where Harry Potter could be?"

"How do you feel about what happened with Dumbledore?"

"Will you be an Auror after you finish school?"

Harry's head zipped around from one person to the next, ears screaming in pain as everyone shouted to get his attention. He took several steps back and turned in shock as the two guards at the bank doors rushed forwards, pikes pointed towards the crowd. They screamed and staggered back but the goblins stopped just in front of Harry.

He sighed in relief at the silence that followed. "If you would all be kind enough not to shout? I have very sensitive hearing."

Xeno stepped forward. "Harry."

"Xeno. Good to see you again."

"How's Luna doing?"

Harry smiled gently at him. It was good to see family so concerned for each other. "She's doing well. She's settled into Ravenclaw nicely and has made a few friends. She joins in with the morning run that most of the school does every day. She's found the first week of classes easy enough and none of the teachers have anything bad to say about her." He glanced at Professor Sinistra who nodded.

"Yes, Luna is a lovely girl, very attentive despite my class being at midnight."

Xeno smiled. "That's good to hear. I was worried she wouldn't make any friends, the youngest Weasley certainly hasn't been quiet about her opinions."

Harry shook his head. "Luna is different. Different doesn't mean bad, but some people just don't like different. I do, and so do a lot of people in the school. During our school wide debate a couple of days ago she gave some very controversial opinions and was one of the few who spoke frankly and clearly about her opinion. She was able to sway a lot of people over to her side."

Professor Sinistra nodded. "Yes, Luna is a free spirit who simply speaks her mind. A lot of the students admire her for that trait."

Another reporter stepped forwards. "School wide debate? What's that?"

Harry turned to him. "Well, my friend Hermione found out about house elves a couple of days ago. Immediately she cried slavery. She's very opinionated and passionate about her beliefs. It sparked a debate that lasted most of our last morning lesson and then during lunch it ended up with the entire hall disgussing it and the teachers had to separate us all into groups depending on our view so we could all debate for a while. We ended up skipping our afternoon classes."

Sinistra nodded. "Yes. If had been something trivial like quidditch or the cutest guy in Witch Weekly of something like that we wouldn't have allowed it but this was an interesting and controversial topic which opened the minds of a lot of students. I had no idea that at one time Muggles took other Muggles as slaves. It is what gave rise to the Muggleborn hatred of the use of house elves. They see it as the same as taking another human and forcing them to do the same. What happened with Harry Potter only exaggerated the issue. As a whole, the students now agree on how house elves should be treated and things like that."

The reporter nodded slowly. "Have any changes been made in Hogwarts due to the students' debate?"

Sinistra nodded again. "Yes, the students have all agreed to be responsible for their own belongings in the dorm rooms and so the elves will not clean up in there, except for changing the bedding. They will only collect clothes to be cleaned from the laundry hampers now installed in each dorm's bathroom. Any clothes left on the floor, will stay there. They will still clean the common room but the dorms are the student's responsibility."

Harry nodded. "Students can also call the elves during free periods for study snacks, but the elves are the ones who decide on what and if to serve. It will always be something healthy, like chopped fruit and finger sandwiches but if it's close to meal time they are allowed to refuse and they are forbidden from brining food into the library."

"The elves are happier with this, actually." Sinistra added. "Since without having to clean the dorm room all the time they can focus on other duties. Have you _seen_ how many rooms in the school are full of dust and cobwebs? They want to clean them all and the headmistress has given them permission to turn them into social spaces."

Harry nodded to another reporter who had stepped forward. He ended up answering all of their questions, refusing to sign autographs and eventually making his way back to the apparition point. They finally made it back to the school and Harry sighed and leant against a tree. "Are reporters always that bad?"

Sinistra shook her head. "No. Having a goblin guard on either side helped calm them down. Normally it's a forest of hands waving, lights flashing and people taking everything you say out of context."

Harry sighed and stood up straight. "I hope that doesn't happen again."

"It will. Your famous, Mister Irving."

Harry groaned. Thankful once again that the public had no idea he was Harry Potter. Hopefully no one who knew would say anything. He glanced up at the castle as they walked up and saw Professor Quirrel standing at the staffroom window with his enchanted umbrella. A shudder ran up his spine and he turned to face the castle doors.

That man...

He had a bad feeling about him, but only time would tell what.


	15. Chapter 15

6 months. i have no excuse. i'm so sorry.

Thanks to f**oxchick1** for the nudge. again.

* * *

Harry flopped down on the couch with a heavy sigh. The other students in the room chuckled. Tracy sat beside him and pulled his feet onto her lap, pulling his shoes off. "Long day?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Once I get my control better it'll be okay. I think." He turned his head slightly to look around the room better. It was now the weekend following the second week of classes. The house elves had thrown themselves into making the social hangouts in the empty classrooms with vigour and had managed to make loads within the first few days. Some rooms were restricted by year group but mostly they were a free for all.

At the moment the room was mostly full of first years and a couple students from the quidditch teams who were being bombarded by the first years. The Slytherin quidditch team excluded of course. Most of the Slytherins came on the morning runs with everyone else or had their own runs at different times of the day. They would socialise with everyone else in the school, regardless of house. Especially the first years. All of the seventh years found it hard to socialise with each other, the Gryffindors and Slytherins especially, but were making an effort. The Slytherin quidditch team was the only ones not making an effort.

Harry turned back to Tracy. "What's everyone so excited about?"

Tracy smirked. "Flying lessons start next week. None of the Muggleborns have flown before, as well as some of the Half-Bloods and even a couple Pure-Bloods. Some parents don't let their kids fly or they can't easily access a public quidditch field."

Harry hummed. "I prefer the term New-Blood, rather than Muggleborn. Fits better with Half-Blood and Pure-Blood. And I usually say civilian rather than muggle." He flung an arm over his eyes. "Is flying class mandatory? I don't particularly like the idea of having a shaft of wood being the only thing keeping me in the air. I prefer flying under my own power." He yawned widely and glanced at Tracy who was frowning deeply.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to... but... what do you mean fly under your own power? Can you do that?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. No one else can do my method though. It'd kill them if they tried..." he yawned again. It wasn't that he was sleepy, but his body was worn out after the rigorous tort- er training that Anna was having him do to learn how to control his magic better. Ironically enough, Anna's full name was Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov. She was named after, and directly descended from, the famous Russian princess. She was also a descendant of the last Hogwarts Apprentice, Alexander Romanov. Their family had moved to England from Russia after their civilian relatives were killed.

He groaned. "My magic hurts."

Tracy laughed.

He looked at her. "No, seriously. It hurts. She's having me do so many different exercises it hurts now, like when you started running and your legs hurt afterwards? It's like that but worse!" he flopped his head backwards. "Thankfully I don't have to do it again until next Saturday."

Tracy chuckled again. "Well then, more incentive to get better faster then, isn't it? Now, are you coming down to dinner today?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I'll eat in my rooms. I've got tons of work to do."

Tracy mock glared at him. "Harry Irving, one of these days I will get you to eat with the rest of us mortals."

She had no idea what she'd just said, but all the same, Harry felt his chest tighten at the reminder of his unending life span. "And one of these days, I'll tell you why I can't." He waved over his shoulder and left the room. Once back within his rooms he headed down to the magic range downstairs and spent dinner shooting spells. He'd finally mastered all of the Novice tier spells he knew of as well as the new ones that Genis told him. He had a quick shower before mentally looking around the castle for his friends. Most of them had gone back to the hang out room they'd been in before dinner, but he could sense Luna out by the lake. He frowned and walked over to his window, trying to see if he could spot her. He hummed curiously and headed down, unable to see what she was doing from the window.

He sat on the ground near her and watched. She was simply standing with her arms outstretched, a surprisingly harsh wind whipping her hair around behind her. Eventually she sat down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Mummy was a spirit of the wind. Not a wind sprite, sprites are different to spirits. She was... untameable. She was fierce but gentle, capable of soothing hurts and ills or causing untold damage. Wind is so versatile and unpredictable. It's formless but still strong enough to uproot trees. It was what caused Daddy to fall for her in the first place, she was so wild and free. He's told me stories about how they met, and their time together before I was born. I have a few memories of her, but not many. I was so young when she died." She looked up at the clouds streaking across the sky. "I like standing out in the wind. It makes me feel close to her."

Harry nodded and rubbed his head against hers gently. "I get that. Sometimes I just fly around in the sky to get away from everything. It helps me to feel closer to... the man I consider to be my father. His dad was an angel and he was a half-angel. I only saw his wings once but..." he smiled slightly. "It's what inspired my transformation in the first place. To be honest... I've never actually met him but..." he huffed. "Flying makes me feel closer to him."

Luna smiled and nodded. "Do you want to fly over the forest tonight? I can feel a lot of interesting things on the wind."

Harry nodded. "Sure. Are you doing flying classes with the other first years or does you being able to fly anyway exempt you from them?"

Luna smiled. "I'm joining in. It'll be interesting to see what it's like to fly on a broom." She stood up. "I'm going to write to daddy. He wants to know how I'm settling in before he goes away. He worries."

Harry grinned and stood up, brushing himself off. "He cares."

Luna gave him a strange look before frowning sadly. "He does..." she sighed and shook her head. "Have you heard anything of Sirius Black yet?"

Harry shook his head. "No. From what Hookfang told me after the trial, he was taken straight out of Azkaban and is in a hospital at the moment, hidden from everyone. He's got a lot of recovering to do before we're allowed to meet and even then..." he sighed heavily. "I have no idea what he's gonna be like. Will he expect me to be a miniature or my father? Will he expect me to adore the ground he walked on or want to follow in his footsteps? Will he see more of my mother in me? Honestly, I don't know. Ragnarock forwarded some letters to me but I've been too nervous to open them."

Luna smiled slightly. "You'll hear more soon. There's a jerming from the dinkymites that's been hovering in places she shouldn't be. A lot of information that should be hidden will be brought up."

Harry frowned and shook his head. "Right..." he huffed and began walking towards the castle, linking an arm with Luna's. "Well, I hope some secrets can stay buried."

"I'm sure you do, Harry Irving."

"You know I do, Luna Lovegood."

They laughed all the way back up to the castle and waved goodbye as Luna headed off towards Ravenclaw tower to write to her father. He headed back up towards his room, feeling like reading his parents journals again. Honestly, the more he read about them, the more he connected to them. It didn't feel wrong to think of them as his parents anymore. And honestly, from what was written about his grandparents, it would seem the Potter name wasn't quite as bad as he'd felt all these years.

Don't get him wrong, he wasn't going to give up the Irving name, and it meant he could stay away from all the hassle of the whole The-Boy-Who-Lived thing. He'd always been told that his parents were drunks that died in a car crash. That they'd gotten married because of him, that they were both unemployed and skill-less. He was now reading things to the contrary and, even though he'd always known the Dursleys had lied about his parents, it was... somewhat liberating to hear about them now, to know that all of that was completely false.

He sighed and flopped onto his couch, pulling his father's past one out of his bag to read. He'd read the future one later. He had a little bit more time this evening before his magic review session with Raine and Genis and then further swordsmanship training with Lloyd. He then had a couple hours free before it was safe for him and Luna to go out flying.

Finally the clock chimed eight and he put the book down, heading off downstairs to the magic range.

Genis smirked. "Alright, today we'll review all the spells you know and decide what to work on next week. Let's start with Novice tier."

Harry nodded and took a deep breath, got out his staff, looked down to the end of the range and quickly began firing spells off.

First was the fire spells, **Fire Ball** and **Fire Wall**, followed by water spells **Champagne**, **Aqua Edge**, and **Aqua Spiral**. He then followed it us with **Wind Blade**, **Wind Arrow**, **Wind Edge**, **Wind Lance**, **Grave** and **Stone Blast** before he had to stop a moment to catch his breath.

Raine nodded. "We're going to have to work on your rapid fire spells."

Genis nodded. "Yeah, and there is a slight delay between you switching elements. Is that you stopping to think on the next set of spells, or are you not good enough at switching element yet?"

Harry shrugged slightly. "I was pausing on purpose, but that's because I was thinking about how the next element is shaped. I'll get faster with practice and experience. I've been doing it wrong for years. It'll take me a while to learn to do it right instinctively." He stood up straight and huffed a breath and rolled his shoulders, tightening his grip on his staff.

The only Novice tier lightning spell was **Lightning**. Harry paused a moment before he looked up at Genis. "Why aren't there more lightning spells?"

Genis shrugged. "It's one of the harder elements. I'm not sure about other worlds that use magic like we do, but in my world, there aren't many lightning spells. It made fighting Volt a little easier at least."

Harry tipped his head slightly and moved on to the ice spells, **Icicle**, **Ice Hammer**, **Ice Needles**, **Ice Wall** and **Freeze Hunter**. Next was the easy one, the light spell **Energy Blast**. Harry sighed heavily, "Okay... here goes." He carefully shaped the magic and tried to pull on the power needed to cast it but couldn't gather enough power for the spell to have any affect.

Eventually he dropped the mana and sighed. "I can't. Spread Zero and Nightmare are beyond me."

Raine nodded. "I'm not surprised. You have so much light magic in you that darkness spells would be much harder for you to learn."

Harry huffed but nodded and moved on to the healing and support spells. As usual, he had no trouble casting them. Healing, Support and Light spells were the easiest for him to cast, due to the high concentration of light magic in his blood.

By the end of the hour and a half he'd just about managed to cast **Spread Zero**, though it was underpowered, and he'd moved on to learning the intermediate tier support spells.

Finally he was allowed to take a break and replenish his mana before his session with Lloyd, which, as per usual, was simply Harry spending the entire hour and a half dodging blades and spells and trying to take down his opponents.

He was vastly improving. In the beginning he kept getting tunnel vision towards whichever opponent he was trying to take out, leaving him open to attack from all the other enemies. Now he could see everyone at once, though he wasn't able to take them all down by the end of the session.

He did end up less injured though.

By the end of the session he's been defeated nine times, which was better than the day before, and had managed to take out more opponents each time than before.

Harry tiredly cast some healing spells on the minor cuts, bruises and burns before going to take a long shower and relax. He still had a few hours before Luna was due to arrive so he had plenty of time.

Once washed and fully healed Harry settled back down on the sofa and picked up his dad's journals. It was kind of funny that in the past journals, his dad wrote about all the pranks he'd pulled on people and how popular he was and how everyone knew he was the coolest kid in school, but in his journals written as an adult he kept insulting his childhood self, apologising to his victims and actually wrote the consequences of each prank, such as how long each person had to stay in the hospital wing recovering.

Even though he was still in their first year he could already see that their most often targeted person was Professor Snape.

Harry cast his mind down towards the dungeon and easily found Professor Snape's mind. He 'knocked' and the man lowered his mental shields.

"_Irving?_"

"_Yes sir. I was just reading my dad's journals. He kept a good record of the pranks he'd pulled on people._"

There was a brief silence before Snape's emotions slammed into Harry's mind. "_Proud of him are you?_"

"_No. And by the end, neither was he. He and my mum spent some time reading over their old journals and writing about it from an adult perspective. He kept apologising for what he'd done. As a kid, he couldn't see that what he was doing was wrong, but after he married mum and had me, he saw that what he did was wrong._"

"_Hindsight is twenty twenty._"

"_I know. But I thought you would like to know that in the end, he regretted what he did and wanted to apologise to you._"

Snape was silent for a moment and Harry was about to withdraw his mind when Snape spoke again. "_What do you want from me, Irving?_"

"_Nothing. I just wanted you to know he was sorry, and if he could have, he could have apologised to you. Whether you accept that apology or not is up to you. It depends on whether you can forgive him or not. It's your choice, sir. Honestly, I haven't gotten to the end of your first year yet, but I don't think I would have. I don't think I could forgive my cousin for the years he bullied me and if it were anyone else, I wouldn't pass on the message. But this is my dad, I had to pass the message on at least._"

Snape was silent for a moment longer. "_I will think about it, Irving._"

"_Thank you._" Harry pulled his mind back and went to lean back on the couch, only to jump in surprise at the sight of Luna standing right in front of him, her face inches from his. "Give a guy some warning next time." He stood up, one hand over his racing heart.

"You know, you need to set a password right?"

Harry chuckled and walked over to the window, opening it. "I'll do it when we get back, how about that?"

Luna grinned and jumped out of the doorway, landing on the open air level with the floor as if it were solid ground. Harry chuckled and spread his wings, with a quick mental scan to make sure there was no one on the floors below him he dropped down, letting his wings unfurl and catch the air, pulling up only inches from the ground. He skimmed along above the ground for a moment before pulling up and angling towards the forest, Luna darting along beside him, dipping and diving like a leaf caught on a breeze.

They weaved between the tips of the trees, laughing as they scattered owls from their perches. Harry dipped below the branches and weaved between the trunks, thankful that his wings didn't need to beat as often as you'd think for their size, and that he could remain aloft without moving them at all really.

He whizzed around a larger trunk and yelped, darting upwards and away from an arrow that launched at him. A young centaur burst through the bushes and ran off. Before Harry could question him several giant spiders burst from the branches. Most gave chase to the centaur but a few spotted Harry and figured he'd be an interesting meal. Harry whipped out his staff and fried them with a quick **fireball **before turning and dashing off towards the centaur. He cast his mind upwards. "_Luna! Luna!_"

"_I know. I'll guide you both. He's right ahead of you, twelve o'clock._"

Harry surged forward, blasting a couple of spiders with a few well placed **Lightning**s. He easily caught up with the main group and blasted a couple more spiders. The centaur looked up in shock before almost tripping on a log and focusing on where he was going.

"_Harry, turn slightly to your right, two o'clock._"

He dived down. "This way." He led the centaur. Blasting the occasional spider. Eventually they ran into a less dense patch of forest and the Centaur surged forward, waving Harry to follow him. Eventually they slowed down and stopped, realising that they hadn't seen a spider for a few minutes. The centaur fell to his knees and Harry dropped down next to him, tiredly folding his wings to his back. He cast a **Cure** and a **First Aid** to be on the safe side. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Yes... I..." he coughed and looked up. "Thank you... I... I don't..."

There was the sound of heavy hooves and Harry flared his wings, shooting off up into the branches.

The centaur reached up towards him. "Wait! Don't go!"

A group of about five older centaurs leapt into the clearing. One stepped forwards, kneeling down beside the young one. "Virden? Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Yes. A... I don't know... some kind of..."

Harry dropped onto a low branch. Holding his staff tightly in his defence.

Virden looked up at him. "Him. He saved me from the spiders."

The older centaurs all didn't seem to know how to react. The one kneeling down looked up at Harry. "Thank you, for saving my son." He then turned back to Virden and cuffed him around the head. "What were you thinking!? Going near the spiders? You know how dangerous that is!"

He scrunched his face up. "I'm sorry... but I wanted to get the herbs..." he held up the bag. "I got them though."

His father snorted angrily. "You were a damn fool for it!" he stood up and faced Harry properly. "Thank you for saving my son, from the spiders and his own stupidity. He is young and foolish."

Harry nodded, dropping down onto the forest floor to face the group properly, Luna gliding down between the trees with him. "It was nothing. Irving vow number two; Never Abandon Someone In Need."

A centaur that had stood to the side stepped forward. He had thick hair around his hooves and stood a good foot and a half taller than the others. He bowed slightly at the waist. "You are Harry Irving. I am Trace, the leader of the northern herd. The stars have told me a lot about you."

Luna leant closer. "Centaurs read the stars to tell the future. They rarely associate with outsiders. There are two herds in the forbidden forest. One in the north and one in the south. This area is in between the two and is mostly free territory, so long as neither of the two close in too much. They can't get too close anyway, because of the Acromantula."

Trace nodded. "The wind-child is right. We do not associate with many humans. The southern tribe especially. We will associate with those we believe can learn from our teachings, or special cases such as the two of you. Neither of you are human, and neither of you hold the prejudices that many humans do."

Harry nodded slowly. "Children don't hold those prejudices either."

He nodded. "And that is why we do not treat foals the same as we do adults."

Harry nodded slowly. "But if you associated with more humans the children would grow up into adults without the prejudices since they would have known you all since they were children."

Trace threw his head back slightly and whickered a laugh. "The stars were right about you, boy. You are going to change the world."

Harry grimaced at being called Boy but nodded none the less. "Thanks, I guess..."

Trace bowed his head before standing tall. "The colony of spiders has grown too large. We do what we can to keep them contained, but their numbers have grown once more and they are threatening to push all the other creatures back. We cannot afford to lose much more ground. Can you speak with the humans and see about having someone take care of the problem?"

Harry nodded slowly. "I know some people who would be happy to help."

Luna tilted her head at him. "Roland?"

"Roland." Harry turned back to Trace. "He'll be happy to help. He's always complaining about the lack of anything exciting nowadays. I'll send word when he's coming."

Trace bowed slightly. "Thank you, Harry Irving. May the stars shine brightly upon you." He stood up straight and all six galloped away through the trees.

Harry hummed slightly and he and Luna flew back up through the trees. "Well, that was eventful."

Luna laughed and zoomed further up into the sky, Harry shooting after her with a few beats of his wings. It felt good to feel the air between his feathers again after so long. He hadn't dared to fly after Sinistra had seen him. He'd missed the rush of dipping and diving around in the sky, knowing there was nothing but his own wings to keep him aloft. They raced around between the clouds for a few more hours before calling it a night and flying back in through Harry's window.

Harry dispelled his wings and flopped down onto the sofa, Luna dropping down beside him and curling into his side. Harry wrapped an arm over her shoulders and tipped his head back against the couch. "Thanks."

"No problem. You looked like you needed a good fly." Luna turned her face up towards him. "Things are brewing in the path of the fates. Many things have already changed from the original design and dark events are looming on the horizon."

Harry looked down at her, frowning slightly. "What kind of things?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. We'll know it when we see it."

Harry frowned at the ominous tones of her words but relaxed back into the couch, watching Luna slowly drift off to sleep. He carefully scooped her up and carried her into his bedroom, settling her down on his bed and pulling the covers up over her.

.oOo.

Harry sat at the Hufflepuff table for breakfast, sipping juice and reading The Daily Scroll. He watched as Susan opened her copy of the Daily Prophet. Most people now read the Scroll instead of the Prophet, but several students (mostly Gryffindors) stuck to reading the Prophet. Some students, like Susan, read both, if only to keep up to date on the gossip the rest of the world is reading about.

Susan scowled dropping a copy of the Daily Prophet on the table. "Honestly, I have no idea how the woman does it, but Skeeter's gone too far this time, Everyone! Listen to this!" Everyone nearby quieted down and looked towards her. Susan was generally a quiet girl and despite Harry promising to get to know her better she didn't really stand out from the crowd. He could see her watching quietly and taking everything in, but she rarely spoke out. To hear her gathering attention towards her was something of a surprise and everyone quieted down much faster than Harry had been expecting.

"'By now, everyone knows what has happened with Harry Potter. Details of the trial itself have been kept very quiet for a long time but this reporter has managed to get a hold of some inside information' what she doesn't say is that it's classified information. She's gonna be in a lot of trouble for this. Anyway, she goes on to talk about the trial and has released a copy of the Potters' Wills. That's private!"

Hannah scowled. "You don't publish stuff like that unless you have permission from their next of kin..." she snorted. "Disgusting, honestly."

Susan nodded. "Yeah, but get this, Sirius Black wasn't the Potters' Secret Keeper. Apparently after the trial they pulled him out of Azkaban and he's been in a private hospital recovering. Aunty told me that they wanted him to recover properly before they announce it all officially. He's still not well enough yet and even if he were, Potter would know long before the papers ever did."

Hannah gasped. "What if he didn't know about Black being his godfather? What a way to find out!"

Susan frowned and nodded. "Yeah." She shook her head. "I'm sure he knew. It was in the will and all and it was brought up at Dumbledore's trial."

Harry nodded and picked up the copy of the Prophet, confirming that the will was an actual copy of the wills, genuinely surprised to find out that it was. "How does she do this?"

Susan shrugged. "We wish we knew. The DMLE can't arrest her without reason but now that she's got classified information like this, then they can bring her in for questioning."

Harry smirked slightly and nodded. "Good." He looked up as Hedwig flew in and headed towards him with a letter. He'd written to Roland after Luna had gone to sleep and sent Hedwig off. He wasn't surprised to find such a swift reply.

_Harry,_

_You are amazing. It's been more boring than usual around here since you left._

_I'd be more than happy to help you with those spiders, just let me get some more volunteers and we'll write your headmistress for permission to use the forest entrance on the school grounds since it's closest to the spiders._

_See you in a few days, Roland._

Harry smiled and folded the letter, putting it into his bag.

He looked around at everyone, deep in discussion about Harry Potter, Sirius Black, Rita Skeeter and the whole situation, several people bringing Dumbledore into the conversation to blame him for the whole thing.

It reaffirmed Harry's decision to not let anyone know he was Harry Potter.


End file.
